Goddess on a Motorcycle
by amberissmiling
Summary: AU Finchel. Finn's pre-med at NYU and Rachel is the girl that almost ran over him on her Harley. They couldn't be more different...and that's a good thing. For GG!
1. Chapter 1

"You've got to be fucking kidding me," she groaned, getting off her Harley Sportster. She'd almost hit some nerdy looking dude who probably wasn't looking where he was going. He'd dropped his bag and laptop, the latter skidding across the parking lot. "Walk much?" she asked, frustrated.

"I don't have a problem walking if someone isn't trying to run me down," he said, not looking at her. He bent to pick up his laptop, sighing. "Fantastic," he muttered as it fell apart in his hands.

Rachel groaned, wanting to kick something. "Shit."

Finn finally looked up at her, narrowing his eyes. "Why are you still here?"

"Because I almost ran over your dumbass and now I feel bad," she said. Her expression softened when she saw the hurt on his face. "Look, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be a bitch. Let me help you get your stuff."

As they gathered his things, they both snuck glances at the other from the corner of their eyes. He wasn't as nerdy looking as she'd first assumed; under the preppy clothes he seemed to be pretty toned. Finn couldn't take his eyes off of her black leather pants; they looked painted on and hugged the curves of her body. And what a body it was.

Standing, Rachel held some books out to him. Reading the cover of the top one as he took them, she smirked. "Principles of Biomedical Ethics? What the hell is that?"

"It's a school book, obviously," he said, taking it from her and blushing a little.

Oh. Well that was the cutest thing she'd ever seen. "You go to school here?"

"Nah, just walking around campus and carrying the books for exercise." He looked up at her. "I was really hoping some chick on a motorcycle would almost run me over and destroy my laptop."

"Hey, I said I was sorry for being a bitch," Rachel said, hands on her hips.

"Thanks for that," he grumbled, standing and putting his backpack on his shoulder. Without another word, he turned around and started walking off.

"Hey!" Rachel said, reaching for his arm and stopping him. "Look, I am sorry, okay?"

He looked back at her, his eyes meeting hers. Something about his gaze caused her breath to catch in her chest. "Okay," he said softly. "You're sorry."

When he started to turn around, she stopped him again. "I'll pay for your laptop, okay?"

"You don't have to do that," he said, though he had been wondering how he was going to replace it; the warranty was long gone and he was barely scraping by as it was. If it hadn't been for his scholarships, he'd have been back in Ohio a long time ago.

"It's my fault it's broken," she told him. "I've got money, okay? It's not a big deal."

"Must be nice," he said, sighing. "I don't want to take your money."

"No, I insist. I don't have my checkbook here, but if you could come by work tonight I could give it to you." At his look, she smiled. "No funny business, I swear. I just want to make it right, okay?"

She had a beautiful smile. Her eyes glowed with humor, and he couldn't seem to look away. After holding her gaze for a moment, he nodded. "Okay."

"Okay," she said. "Give me a pen." When he pulled one out of his backpack and handed it to her, she took his hand and wrote down the address for her work. "Ask for Rachel."

"That's a pretty name," he said, grimacing when he realized how lame he sounded.

Her smile widened. "Thank you."

"I'm Finn."

"Now _that's_ a nice name," she said, walking back to her bike. "I'll see you tonight, Finn."

He nodded as she got on the motorcycle, still unable to take his eyes off of her. She started it and rode past, waving a little. He lifted his hand slowly after she'd already passed, still a bit dazed. The bitch on the bike that had almost killed him had somehow turned into a leather wearing goddess. He shook his head as he walked on, smiling a little. Who knew?

GLEEGLEEGLEEGLEEGLEEGLEE

"Are you sure you don't want me to go with you?" Quinn asked him for the tenth time.

"You have a big test tomorrow," he reminded her. "I'm just going to go pick the money up and come right back." He turned at the door and looked at the pretty blonde girl. "I won't get shot. Probably." When she didn't smile he sighed. "I promise."

"Just be careful, okay?" she said, hugging him.

"Okay."

He walked her to her dorm and then got in his seven year old Honda Civic. Punching the address into his GPS he frowned. It would probably be cheaper to just buy a new laptop; Rachel worked 45 minutes away.

On the way he thought about Quinn. She was beautiful, intelligent, funny…everything he'd ever dreamed he wanted. He couldn't understand why he wasn't in love with her. They cared about each other and everyone always assumed they were dating…but they never had. They probably never would.

"No," he said to himself as he pulled into the parking lot of "The Dollhouse" strip club. "No way. This isn't happening. She's a stripper?"

He dropped his head back against his seat, closing his eyes. He would just buy a new laptop. No way was he going into a strip club looking for her.

Unbidden, the image of those leather pants crossed his mind. "Damn," he said to himself. He knew he was going in and he hated himself for it.

Walking into the club he'd never felt so out of place in his life. He felt…vanilla. Very vanilla, like the plainest, dorkiest, most bland dude in the world. He didn't belong in a strip club; he should be in his dorm room, making out with equally vanilla Quinn. Nerd love and all that.

"Finn!" she yelled at him from across the room. He squinted as he walked into the darkened smoke filled room. Where was she? "Just wait a few minutes, okay?"

He nodded, but still didn't know where she was. Deciding to sit before he fell over something, he found a seat by the stage. He looked around nervously, hoping no one noticed him. He shouldn't have bothered; every man in the building was staring at the stage. When the music started, he looked up too. He's a man, okay? He couldn't help it.

It was her. His mouth suddenly dry, he probably stopped breathing. She was dressed in a Catholic schoolgirl uniform, her hair in pigtails. He couldn't tear his eyes away from her legs in thigh high white stockings. Well, he couldn't until she started undoing the buttons of her shirt.

No no no no no no no. Don't take it off. Stop. Don't stop. Take it off. Oh, is that black lace? Put your shirt back on. Wait. Holy shit, was she going to take her bra off? He didn't know whether to close his eyes or stand up and yell like the other men. He didn't have any money. Why would he? He'd had no clue he was coming to a strip club. He watched as a man stuffed a bill in her bra, his hand staying on her skin long enough to piss Finn off. Rachel just smiled at him, turning around and shaking her ass in front of him.

Her hips rolled with the music, her body swaying in time to the beat. She danced like a professional, and he figured it was because she was. He could tell she was enjoying it as she threw her head back and moved.

"Fuck this," he said, watching her get on the floor and crawl over to a group of men. He may be a square (and using the word "square" to define himself made him so, definitely), but he didn't have to sit around and watch her crawl while men pawed at her. He walked outside, leaning against the brick and taking deep breaths. He felt like he'd run a marathon and he couldn't get the image of all those hands on her body out of his head. He didn't know why it bothered him so much, but it did.

After a few minutes Rachel came out, dressed again in her leather pants and t-shirt. "Too much for you?" she asked, grinning.

"I just came for my money," he told her.

She cocked her head, studying him. "Why are you mad?"

"I'm not mad," he lied. "I just don't like to see women degrade themselves like that for money."

Rachel's eyes widened in shock, and then quickly narrowed. "You don't think I should show off my body?" she asked, walking to him. She stood too close to him and then stood closer still. Her body was inches from his as she looked up at him. "You didn't want to touch me?"

Finn's breathing grew ragged as he looked down at her, able to feel her though they weren't touching. "What do you want from me?" he asked.

Rachel touched his stomach, her eyes widening again as she felt how solid he was. "I want you to be honest," she said. "Do you like my body?"

"I like it," he told her. "But I don't like what you do with it."

"Oh, I think you'd like what I can do with it," she said lowly, wrapping her arms around his neck. He stiffened but let her pull his head down. When her lips touched his they both pulled back, shocked. It was only a small kiss, but it felt like so much more. "It's too bad you'll never know," she said, moving away from him. "I don't like prudes."

Finn glared at her. "I'm not here to play games," he told her. "I just want the money for the laptop and I'll leave."

"I don't have it," she told him. "Not here. Brody was supposed to…" she sighed. "We have to go get it."

Finn shook his head. "This is garbage," he told her. "Just forget it."

"Hey," Rachel said, angry. "I told you I would give you the money and I will. It's my money, it's just somewhere else. You've already come all the way here. Why would you leave without it?"

He stared up at the sky, wishing he was back in Ohio so he could at least see the stars. "I have class in the morning," he told her finally. "I can't be out all night."

"So responsible," she said, smiling. "I promise to have you back home before you turn into a pumpkin."

He rolled his eyes, walking to his car. "I'll follow you."

"I need a ride," she told him. "Brody- my ex- took my bike."

"Of course you need a ride," he muttered, walking from his car door around to her side. When he opened it for her she stared at him. "What?"

"Did you really just open the door for me?"

He shrugged. "Sorry."

"No," she said quietly. "It was nice."

He looked at her, for the first time seeing her for what she was; a young woman in a big city. "No problem."

She got into the car and immediately started looking around. "Wow, this is clean. Like…clean clean. Freakishly clean."

"Most prudes have freakishly clean cars," he told her as he started it.

"Most sluts ride motorcycles," she said, looking out the window.

He sighed again, something he was doing all too often today. "I'm sorry about that," he told her. "I have no right to make remarks about your person or your choice of employment."

She shrugged. "Go north on Chestnut."

While he was driving she picked up his IPOD and went through his music. "Classic rock? I would have never guessed."

"What were you expecting? Chopin?"

"I don't really know what I was expecting," she told him, and it was true. She'd been right about one thing; he was definitely a nerd. But he was extremely cute and his body was rock hard. He blushed and he opened car doors for women. He was smart and clean and…wholesome. Wholesome was something that she hadn't been around much, but she found that she liked it. She liked it a lot. And she LOVED teasing him. "How many times have you had sex in this car?" she said, trying to stifle her grin.

"Depends," he told her, glancing her way. "Does masturbation count?"

Rachel laughed loudly, covering her mouth with her hand. "Are you serious?"

He grinned, turning onto Chestnut. "No, I'm not serious."

"Where are you from, anyway?" she asked him. "You have an odd accent."

"Ohio," he told her. "A little town called Lima."

"Get out," she told him. "One of my dad's is from there!"

"Really?" he said, looking at her in surprise.

"Yeah, Leroy Berry. You know him?"

Finn grinned. "I do! He plays the saxophone in a jazz band, right?"

"Yes!" Rachel exclaimed, sitting up in her seat. "This is so crazy! How do you know him?"

"He's friends with my Spanish teacher Mr. Schue. He came and played for our Glee Club a few times." As soon as he said the words he wanted to take them back.

"You were in the Glee Club?" Rachel asked, staring at him.

Finn shrugged. "Laugh all you want," he told her. "We won Nationals."

"Finn, I think I remember my dad talking about you!" Rachel said excitedly. "Were you the quarterback?"

"Yeah," he said, grinning.

"My dad liked you," she told him. "He said you were a leader."

Finn couldn't stop the proud smile. "It was high school."

"And now you're in New York," she said. "Pre-med?"

"How did you know?"

"Your book today."

He nodded. "Yeah, pre-med."

"I can't wait to tell daddy," she told him.

"Does he…" he cleared his throat. "Does he know what you do?"

Rachel sat back in the seat. "Yes. My dad's don't like it, but they support me."

"You have two dads?"

"Yeah," Rachel said. "Is that a problem?"  
He shook his head. "Not for me."

Rachel smiled, relieved. "Good." She looked out the windshield and gave him a few more directions. "Okay, turn in here."

"Really?" he asked, looking at the club. "A club?"

"This is where my money is," she told him. She opened the door and looked at him. "You coming?"

"Can't I just wait in the car?"

"No, you nerd. You're coming in."

Finn rolled his eyes. "That's a nice way of convincing me."

Rachel laughed. "Come on."

They walked to the club entrance and Finn once again thought about how much he didn't fit in here. He never went to clubs; he couldn't dance and he was clumsy. He didn't want to go into this one, but he couldn't seem to help himself.

When they got into the building Rachel immediately saw people she knew. "This is my new friend Finn," she told them, introducing him. "Have you guys seen Brody?"

"He's in the back," a girl named Brittany told her. "He's not in a very good mood."

"That's fine," Rachel told her. "Because neither am I." She looked at Finn. "Will you wait here for me?"

Finn nodded, watching her walk away. He didn't know who Brody was, but he already hated the dude. "So," Rachel's friend Santana said, standing in front of him. "How close are you and Rachel?"

"We just met today," Finn told her. He took a deep breath; this chick had trouble written all over her. And sexy. That was written somewhere too. Probably across her almost bare chest.

"That's nice," Santana said, running her hand up his arm. "You look like a nice boy," she said. "Brittany and I like nice boys, don't we, Britt?"

Finn looked over to see the blonde looking at him. "We could have a lot of fun," she said, looking him up and down. "A lot of fun."

"Um…" Finn said, looking around for Rachel. "I don't know…"

"Let's dance," Santana said, taking his hand and pulling him out to the dance floor. "Come on, Brittany."

Finn stumbled behind her, desperately searching for Rachel. This wasn't a good idea. He didn't want to be the nerdy goofball between two of the hottest girls he'd ever seen. It was embarrassing. The idea that he wouldn't mind Rachel dancing around him flitted through his mind, disappearing when Santana stopped and grinded into him, her hips moving with the music. Before he could say anything he felt Brittany dancing behind him, her hands wrapping around him and rubbing his stomach.

"Holy shit," he said, closing his eyes and praying Rachel found him fast.

He didn't have to move; the girls moved enough for him. Brittany's hands were under his shirt, slowly creeping towards the top of his jeans. Santana's hands pulled his head down close to her neck, her ass grinding into him. He felt like he'd fallen into someone else's life, and if he hadn't already met Rachel he'd be in heaven. But he had met Rachel and all of this felt wrong.

He lifted his head to tell the girls he didn't want to dance and caught sight of Rachel arguing with a man. He saw the man grab her arm and her try to pull away. He had pushed away from Santana and Brittany before he realized what he was doing, reaching the couple and pushing the man. "Hey," Finn yelled to be heard over the music. "Don't grab her like that."

"Who the fuck is this?" the guy asked Rachel, glaring at Finn.

"Finn, just go wait, okay? This will only take a minute."

Finn didn't move. "You don't grab women like that," Finn told the man, assuming he was the infamous Brody. "Have some respect."

Brody snorted. "Respect? She's a fucking stripper."

Finn threw the punch before Brody was done talking. "Finn!" he heard Rachel scream as Brody retaliated, grabbing him and pushing him back into the wall.

Finn had been in a few fights when he was in high school, but nothing like this. Even though he was much taller than the other guy, Brody was obviously a more experienced fighter. Finn was literally seeing red, though; his only thought was to hurt the other man.

A couple of guys broke the fight up, yelling for Rachel to get Finn out of there. Rachel took his arm, pulling him along until they were outside. The cool night air hit him, waking him up. "Shit," he groaned, bending over and holding his side. He was pretty sure one of his ribs was broken.

"Oh my God," Rachel said, running her hands over him. "Are you okay? What hurts?"

"Everything," he said. "If you don't stop touching me like that we're going to have a completely different problem."

"Oh." She straightened up, looking at him. "What were you thinking?"

"I was thinking that no man should ever grab a woman and yell at her," he said, touching his lips and finding blood on his fingertips. "Damn."

"I need to take you to the hospital," she told him.

"No insurance," he said.

Rachel looked around. "Get in the car; I'll take you to my place."

"No thanks," he told her. "I just want to go home."

"Get in the car," she said, taking the keys out of his pocket and unlocking his doors.

Finn got in; it was either that or fall down. Rachel kept talking to him while she drove but he wasn't listening. He kept trying to remember exactly what happened during the fight. "Did I win?"

Rachel smiled a little. "You were winning until he picked up the chair."

"Dirty bastard," Finn said. "Chairs should be illegal."

When they got to her apartment building, Finn looked over at her. "You live here?"

She nodded, opening her door. "I know it looks bad, but my apartment is nice."

"I don't get it," Finn told her as they got into the elevator. "Your dad's wealthy. Why are you living here?"

"I don't want my dad's money," Rachel told him. "I want to make it on my own."

"My step dad is a senator," Finn told her, grimacing as a sharp pain tore through his ribs.

Rachel stared at him. "You could have gotten a new laptop anyway!"

He shook his head. "I want to make it on my own too."

When they reached her apartment Rachel opened four locks. "You can never be too careful."

Finn didn't know what he'd expected, but this wasn't it. "This is…nice."

"Don't sound so surprised," she told him, going into the little bathroom. "Sit at the table."

Finn sat in one of the two seats at the little kitchen table, looking around. The space was so tiny the kitchen, living room and bedroom all seemed to be one. "You don't have a door to your bedroom?"

Rachel came back out of the bathroom with alcohol and band aids, shrugging. "Why would I need one? It's just me here."

"I didn't think you'd live alone," he said as she pulled the other chair in front of him, sitting on it.

"I love my friends, but they're a little too much to handle sometimes."

"I noticed," he said, thinking of Brittany and Santana. He couldn't stop the blush that flooded his cheeks.

Rachel ran a cotton pad under his lip, not looking into his eyes. "I saw you dancing with Santana and Brittany," she told him. "Did you have fun?"

He watched her. "Not really."

Her eyes met his. "Why not?"

He shrugged. "It just felt wrong."

Rachel smiled. "Does that have anything to do with your prudish ways?" she teased.

"Probably," he admitted, smiling sheepishly.

He was so cute. Rachel had never really found "cute" that appealing, but something about him turned cute into something else entirely. He was solid and steady. He was decent and strong and willing to stand up for her even though he didn't really know her.

"Take your shirt off," she told him. "I want to see if we need to take you to the hospital anyway." She'd noticed him favoring his ribs and was afraid one was broken.

Finn pulled his shirt over his head, grimacing at the movement. Rachel sucked in her breath at the sight of his chest. She didn't even notice the bruises; she couldn't stop staring at the wide expanse of…dear lord, muscles. She'd realized he was strong, but she hadn't realized how well built he really was. She suddenly felt like the room was much too small and much too hot.

"That bad?" he asked, assuming her grimace was because of his ribs.

"No," Rachel said, shaking her head as if to clear it. "You've got some bruising but I don't think anything is broken. They may be cracked…"

Finn nodded. "That's what I figure."

Rachel opened her mouth to say something but her front door flew open, slamming against the wall. "I'm going to kill him," a tall man said, coming into the small apartment. "He's fucking dead."

"Noah," Rachel said, standing up. "Stop."

"How many times does this make, Rach?" the man demanded, his fists clenched at his side. "How many times have I told him not to fucking touch you?"

Finn stood slowly, completely unsure of what was going on. "Rachel?"

Both Rachel and Noah turned to look at him. Finn realized they were related. "You're Rachel's brother?"

Noah looked Finn over, nodding. "Noah Puckerman," he told Finn. "Rachel's my twin sister."

"Twins?" Finn said, looking at them. "But…"

"They gave Noah our father Hiram's last name. I got Leroy's."

Puck moved closer to Finn, holding out his hand. "You can call me Puck," he told Finn. "Everyone but Rachel does."

"I'm Finn Hudson," Finn told him.

"You're the guy who fought Brody?" Finn nodded. "Thanks, man." He looked back at Rachel. "I'm not playing this time, Rach. I know we have a history and I know we used to be boys, but it's done. It's over. I'm going to kill him."

"Noah, Finn took care of it, okay?"

"Does this happen a lot?" Finn asked, interrupting. "And if it does, why do you still go around him?"

"It's complicated," Rachel told him. "And it's none of your business."

Finn stepped back as if slapped. "You're right," he said, reaching for his shirt. "None of this is my business."

"No, Finn, wait," Rachel said, reaching for him. "I didn't mean it like that."

"I'm tired and I'm sore and I think it's time for me to get back to my dorm," Finn said stiffly. "It was nice meeting both of you."

Though Rachel called for him, Finn just shook his head and kept going. He'd had enough for one night.

GLEEGLEEGLEEGLEEGLEE


	2. Chapter 2

Sam was lying on Finn's bed, tossing a ball in the air. Finn glared at him as he put the ice pack on his face, wincing. "Thanks for the ice pack," he told his friend. "You can go back to your room."

"No way, we have to talk about this some more," Sam told him. "I'd think you were making it up if it weren't for your…you know, your face."

"We have class in an hour," Finn reminded him.

Sam sighed. "I don't want to go to class," he grumbled. He and Finn had met in their first class at NYU and been best friends ever since. Sam was a jokester, always playing pranks and goofing off. Since Finn was always serious, having Sam around lightened things up. "Where's Artie?" he asked, looking over at Finn's roommate's empty bed.

Finn shrugged. "He was gone when I woke up. I think he's still seeing that Sugar girl."

Sam shook his head. "I just don't get it," he said. "He wears sweater vests."

"She seems to like his sweater vests," Finn said. "She doesn't mind the wheelchair, either. I'm glad he found her."

"Speaking of "hers," tell me more about the hot blonde and brunette grinding on you at Club Friendly."

Finn plopped down at his computer desk, putting his head down on it. He felt like he'd been hit by a train and when he'd first stood up this morning he'd almost fallen back down. He didn't want to go to class either. "I shouldn't have mentioned them," he told Sam. "Forget they exist."

"Like I could," Sam snorted. "You have to take me to this club, bro. Tonight."

"No way," Finn said. "They probably wouldn't let me back in anyway."

"You're like, the worst best friend ever," Sam complained. "You meet a hot stripper, go to a strip club, go to a regular club and practically get molested by two, count them, TWO babes, get into a fight…and where was Sam for all of this, huh? Asleep. Or masturbating. Or masturbating and then sleeping." He shook his head. "You suck."

"It wasn't as fun as you make it sound," Finn told him. "Trust me."

"What are you going to tell Quinn?"

Finn shrugged, wincing at the pain that caused. Broken or not, his ribs freaking hurt. "I guess that I got into a fight."

"She'll faint," Sam said, laughing.

Finn gave him a dirty look. "Shut up."

"Her delicate sensibilities won't tolerate it."

"She's not that bad," Finn grumbled.

"You're right," Sam said. "She's worse."

"I thought you liked Quinn?"

"I do like her. She's just boring."

"Boring is safe," Finn said, thinking about Rachel.

"Boring is boring," Sam told him. "So when are you going to see this Rachel chick again?"

"I'm not," Finn told him.

"What about your laptop?"

Finn made a face. He really didn't have the money for another laptop. His mom and Burt would be more than happy to buy him a new one (or ten), but that wasn't going to happen. "I guess I'll go without until I can save up some money."

"First of all, that's stupid. She offered to buy you a new one, and your step dad is freaking loaded. Secondly, you work part time at the SUB. That would take months and you'll fail."

"I won't fail," Finn scoffed. "Lots of people don't have laptops."

"Bullshit," Sam said. "Ten year olds have laptops. You'll have to go to the library to do all your papers. Where are you going to find the time for that?"

"I can do it," Finn told him.

"I know you can," Sam said, standing up. "But why would you?" He walked to the door. "See you in forty."

Finn nodded, putting his head back down on the desk. He never missed a class, but he was thinking that there was a first time for everything. He wanted to lie down and sleep for 24 hours.

Outside his dorm, Quinn bumped into Rachel as they climbed the steps to the door. "Sorry," Quinn said, smiling at her.

"My fault," Rachel said, smiling back. It was true; she felt like a zombie because she'd spent the whole night last night tossing and turning, trying to decide what to do. Since meeting Finn, all she'd done was hurt him and she hated that. She wanted to make it up to him. She finally decided to come to his dorm today and apologize, giving him his money. It was the least she could do.

As she started climbing the steps, the blonde beside her said, "I'm Quinn."

"Rachel," Rachel told her. "Is this a co-ed dorm?"

"Oh, no, I don't live here," Quinn said. "I'm down the street. I'm just visiting a friend. Are you visiting too?"

"Something like that," Rachel told her. She couldn't help but watch the other girl; she seemed completely perfect, like a Barbie doll. Every hair was in place, and her little dress was immaculate. Her skin was flawless, too. Rachel hated her a little, even as she found herself liking her.

Quinn did her best not to look at Rachel; there was something wild about her that Quinn wasn't used to. Her hair, her clothes…everything about her screamed danger. Quinn knew enough to know that the woman herself probably wasn't dangerous, but she had no doubt danger followed her.

They both stopped at the same floor, laughing a little as Quinn held the door open for Rachel. "I hope I'm in the right place," Rachel told her. "My brother found the address for me, and who knows if it's the right one or not?"

"Who are you looking for?" Quinn asked her, stopping at Finn's door.

Rachel looked at the number and frowned. "Finn Hudson."

Quinn's eyes widened in shock. "You're here for Finn?" she asked, dismayed.

"Is that your friend?" Rachel asked. Of course he was. He was adorable and straight edge; this girl would be his perfect match. Rachel wasn't sure why that made her unhappy. She suddenly wanted to rub dirt on the front of Quinn's dress. Who even wore cardigans anymore?

Finn opened the door before Quinn could answer. "Finn!" Quinn cried, reaching up to gently touch his face. "What happened?"

Finn tore his questioning gaze from Rachel to look down at her. "Got into a fight," he told Quinn.

"Are you okay? How badly are you hurt?" She looked back at Rachel and then up at Finn. "Oh. Finn, you know Rachel?"

Finn looked back at the brunette and nodded. "What are you doing here?" he asked her.

Rachel had spent the entire morning planning her apology. She didn't want to say it in front of an audience, though. None of this was going the way she'd hoped it would. "I brought your money," she told him.

"I told you not to worry about it," he told her.

Rachel shrugged. "You actually said, "I'm tired and sore and I think it's time for me to go back to my dorm,"" Rachel told him. "I still owe you the money." She looked at Quinn, who was staring at her in horror, then back to him. "And an apology. I'm sorry about last night. About all of it."

Quinn shook her head, looking up at Finn. "Let's go into your room," she said, backing the man up. "I don't want to stand out in the hallway and draw attention." When they got into the room, Quinn turned back to Rachel. "I'm guessing you're the woman with the motorcycle?"

Rachel nodded. "That's me," she said. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a stack of money. "I checked online," she told Finn. "This should buy you a really good laptop. Noah said the one he has was the same price."

Finn took the money, shaking his head as he counted it. "There's way too much money here," he said, looking back up at Rachel. "I can't take all of this."

"Look, dude, after last night…I owe you one, okay?"

"No," Finn said, "it's not okay. If you're talking about the Brody thing, that was on me."

"I'm talking about all of it," Rachel said. "Brody, the strip club, what I said at my apartment…"

"I think I'm going to go," Quinn said quietly. "I'll see you in class, Finn."

"No, Quinn, don't go," Finn said, reaching for her.

Quinn moved out of the way. "No, it's okay," she told him. "You two have a lot to discuss."

"I'm sorry," Rachel told her sincerely. "I didn't mean to upset you."

"You didn't," Quinn said, smiling weakly. "It was nice to meet you, Rachel."

She left before Finn could say anything else. He cursed as the door shut softly behind her. Rachel looked at him, concerned. "I seem to be saying this a lot, but I really am sorry. I should have just left and come back some other time or something."

Finn shook his head. "It's okay," he told her. "I'll talk to her later." He handed some bills back to Rachel. "I truly can't take this," he told her. "My laptop was much cheaper than this."

"Look, I've caused you a lot of problems. Consider it money for the hassle, okay?"

"But you need money," he told her.

Rachel cocked her eyebrow at him. "Why would you think I need money?"

"I thought you said…your dads…" Finn trailed off, confused.

Rachel nodded in understanding. "I know you think it's degrading, but I make around $70,000 a year dancing."

Finn's mouth fell open. "What?"

Rachel shrugged. "If you're good at it, you make a lot of money."

Finn shook his head. "Holy crap."

"I won't do it forever," she told him. "Just until I figure out what I want to do with my life. And it gives me a chance to dance." She smiled. "I love to dance."

"You're good at it," he said absently, still trying to wrap his mind around the idea of someone so young making so much money.

"I'm going to go now," Rachel told him. "You should probably go find your girlfriend."

"She's not my girlfriend," he told her. "She's just…my friend."

"She didn't act like "just your friend.""

"It's complicated," Finn told her.

"Isn't everything?" Rachel asked, turning to leave.

"Dude, I left my book here," Sam said, coming into the room. He stopped, seeing Rachel. "Am I awake?" he asked.

Rachel grinned. "Hi," she said. "I'm Rachel."

"Rachel?" Sam said, shaking her hand and looking at Finn. "_The_ Rachel?"

Finn glared at his friend. "Your book?"

"Sorry, Rachel's beauty stopped me in my tracks," Sam said, bringing her hand up to his mouth and kissing the back of it.

Rachel's grin turned into a full blown laugh. "Who are you?"

"I, my dear, stunning Rachel, am Sam. Sam I am." He winked at her. "Finn has told me all about you, of course."

"Oh yeah?" Rachel said, looking up at Finn. He looked like he'd stepped on a Lego.

"I've spent the morning begging him to take me to the club you went to last night. "I must gaze at this perfection in person," I told him. I also wanted to give this Brody fella a piece of my mind."

Finn was close to strangling his best friend. "Get your book," he growled.

"So are you guys going to come?" Rachel asked, looking at Finn. "I don't have to work tonight, so I'll be there."

"No," Finn said.

"Yes," Sam said. "Can you give me directions in case Finn has forgotten? I'd hate to get lost."

"Sure," Rachel said, grabbing a notebook and pen. While she wrote, Sam looked over her head and grinned at Finn.

Finn shook his head, pissed. "We can't go. We have to study."

"All work and no play makes Finn a dull boy," Rachel said, handing the notebook to Sam. "I'll see you guys tonight."

She felt much better about everything as she made her way to Noah's car. She'd see Finn tonight! The heavy feeling in her stomach she hadn't even realized was there was gone now. She'd been prepared to walk out of his room and never see him again…but she hadn't wanted to. Instead of worrying over her feelings, she decided to not overthink things for once.

Getting to the old Dodge Charger, she frowned at her brother. "What?"

Puck, who was sitting on the hood of his car, shook his head. "I just met an angel," he said wonderingly. "She was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."

Rachel rolled her eyes. "Every woman you meet is the most beautiful you've ever seen."

"No, Rach, I mean it," he said, looking over at her. "I've never seen anyone so perfect in my life. I was afraid to touch her because I didn't want to get her dirty."

Rachel just looked at him. "What are you talking about?"

"I don't know," he said, tossing his cigarette on the ground. "I'm wondering now if it was just a dream. Women like that…I don't think they really exist. No one wears cardigans anymore, right?"

"Oh!" Rachel said, putting her hand to her mouth. "Noah, that was Quinn."

"Yes," Puck said, nodding. "She said her name was Quinn. Do you know her?"

"I think she's Finn's girlfriend."

"Oh," Puck said, his shoulders sagging. "That makes sense, right?"

"I'm sorry," Rachel told her brother, realizing that he was truly upset. "He said she wasn't, but I think there's probably something there."

Puck perked up. "But if he said there wasn't…maybe I'll have a chance!" He got off the car and walked towards Finn's dorm.

"What are you doing?" Rachel asked him.

"Going to ask Finn about her."

"Wait until tonight," Rachel told him. "He and his friend Sam are coming to the club."

Puck looked up at the building and sighed, relenting. "I could have sworn she was an angel," he said to himself as he opened his door.

Rachel shook her head, looking up at the dorm. "Maybe we'll both get lucky," she said quietly.


	3. Chapter 3

"We're not going in a minivan," Finn said for the third time.

"We have to," Sam told him. "Artie doesn't want to take a cab. Too much of a hassle."

"How did we go from not going to the club, to _going_ to the club, and then to _everyone_ going to the club?" Finn asked, putting his face in his hands.

Sam shrugged. "Word gets around."

It definitely does when motor mouth Sam is in charge. "Quinn's not coming?"

"I think she wanted to, but she's upset. You shouldn't have let her meet Rachel."

"I didn't have anything to do with it," Finn told him, shutting the door to his dorm and walking with Sam down the hall. "They met in the hallway." He looked down. "This shirt is ridiculous." Because he had absolutely ZERO "clubbing" clothes, he'd borrowed a shirt from Sam and some jeans from another friend. The jeans fit fine, just hanging off of him a little; Sam assured him they were supposed to. The shirt, though…it was tight over his chest and when he lifted his arms he felt like too much skin was exposed. It embarrassed him but caused Sugar to lick her lips and forget what she was saying. He still wasn't sure that was a good thing. Damn, he was a prude. _That_ was embarrassing too.

"You look great," Sam said distractedly, texting. "I sent Quinn one final message," he said, handing Finn his phone. "From your phone."

"Shit, Sam," Finn groaned.

"She should come," Sam told him as they walked outside. He waved to Artie and Sugar. "We'll wait a couple of minutes for her."

"I just want to say once more that I'm totally against all of this," Finn said, reaching Artie and Sugar.

"Of course you are," Artie said with a wide grin. "There's a strong possibility that we'll have fun tonight."

Finn glared at him, but the man just shrugged. "We're going to wait a few minutes on Quinn. She may be coming," Finn told them.

Sugar made a face. "Will she wear a sweater?"

"Probably," Sam said.

"It's not a sweater, it's a cardigan," Finn corrected her.

"Whatever it is, it's weird," Sugar said, opening the back of the van and getting everything ready for Artie to get into it. He could do it all himself- it was his handicapable van, after all- but Sugar liked helping him with things.

They'd decided to leave when they saw Quinn walking toward them. She wasn't wearing the cardigan, but everything she put on made her look too sweet for the rest of the world. She didn't look like she belonged in a club, but she did look beautiful. "Hey," Finn said, smiling to her as she got in the vehicle. "You look stunning."

She blushed slightly, smiling. "Thank you."

"Look," he said quietly, "about earlier…"

Quinn lifted her hand, stopping him. "It's my fault. I had no right to act that way. I was just being a silly girl."

"No," Finn said. "I was rude."

She smiled at him. "Don't worry about it, okay? Let's just forget it happened."

"Are you sure?"

She nodded. "I'm sure."

"Now that that's settled," Sam said, butting into their conversation, "let's get going!"

The drive was nice but Finn felt himself getting more and more nervous. He hadn't fit in at the club the first time and that was before he almost destroyed it. He wasn't sure the owner would even let him back in. "Why are we doing this?" he said aloud.

"Shut up and enjoy it," Sam said good-naturedly.

"What's the name of this club?" Sugar turned around in her seat and asked Finn.

Finn frowned. "I have no idea," he told them. He remembered seeing the sign but he couldn't remember what it said.

"Who are we meeting there?" Quinn asked.

"Rachel and her friends," Sam told her.

"Oh," Quinn said softly. Finn knew she was regretting her decision to come. He felt the same way.

"Save me a dance?" he asked her.

She smiled. "Are you threatening me?"

Sam and Artie started laughing and Finn winked at her. Maybe they would be okay. He didn't want to do anything that would hurt their friendship.

Making the turn into the club parking lot, Artie said, "It's Puck's."

"What's Pucks?" Finn asked, confused.

Artie sighed, motioning to the building. "The name of the club, genius."

"No way," Finn said, getting out of the van to look at the neon sign. Sure enough, it said "Puck's" on it. "Well I'll be damned."

"Isn't that Rachel's brother?" Sam asked as Quinn and Sugar helped Artie out of the van.

Finn nodded. "Maybe he's the owner." If that was true, Finn could probably still get in. Probably.

From the looks of the parking lot, the club was busy. Artie got out of the van and the group drew a collective breath. Sam, Artie and Sugar were excited; Finn and Quinn were nervous. "May as well go in, right?" Finn said, looking at Quinn.

She nodded, smiling. He took her hand and they all walked into the building.

It was packed with wall to wall people. "It wasn't this busy last night," Finn told them.

"What should we do?" Sugar asked him.

Finn shrugged. "Dance. Drink. Sit in a corner and make out."

"Yes to all three," Artie said, pulling a laughing Sugar into his lap and moving into the club. People made way for his wheelchair, no one giving it a second glace.

Sam clapped his hands together, rubbing them. "Now, onto the two hot babes from last night…"

"I don't see them," Finn told him, looking deeper into the dark club. "I don't see Rachel either."

"Maybe we should leave," Quinn said.

"Finn!" Puck said, coming towards them. "Glad you made it, there's something I want to talk to you about."

"Noah?" Quinn asked, shocked.

Puck stopped walking, his mouth hanging open. "Quinn. You're here. With Finn…" He trailed off, looking at both of them. "Welcome to my club."

"This is your club?" she asked, confused. "I thought it was Rachel's brothers club?"

"I am Rachel's brother," Puck told her. "Most people call me Puck."

"Oh," Quinn said, still a little confused. "You own this?"

Puck nodded, grinning. "Sure do."

"Why is it so packed?" Finn asked him.

"Because Puck's is the place to be, obviously," Puck said. "Tonight we have a special guest. Mercedes Jones is going to be here."

"No way," Sam said, abandoning his search for Brittany and Santana. "Mercedes Jones? The singer?"

"Yeah," Puck said, pleased. "She and Rach are friends from way back. She comes back to town every now and then and sings for us. I'm Puck, by the way," he said, shaking Sam's hand.

"Sam," Sam told him, still looking a little star struck. "It's amazing that she sings here," he said. "Where's the stage?"

"It's over there," Puck told him, pointing. Rachel walked up, putting her arm around him.

"Hey!" she said. "I'm glad you guys could make it." She looked up at Puck. "What's over there?"

"The stage," Puck told her. "I was just telling them about Mercedes being here tonight."

"You guys are in for a treat," Rachel said, smiling.

"The real treat is when Rachel gets up and sings with her," Puck told them.

"You sing?" Finn asked her. He tried not to pay attention to the tight jeans and black shirt she was wearing, especially with her brother right beside her. It was hard, though.

"Like a bird," Puck said, answering for her.

"Finn sings," Sam told them. "Plays the drums, too."

"You do, huh?" Rachel said, looking him up and down. "We may have to do a song together."

Finn shuffled his feet. "I don't know," he said.

"He'll do it," Quinn said. "You guys won't believe it, he's really good."

"We'll see," Rachel said, lifting her eyebrows at him. "Hey Sam I am, wanna dance?"

"Sure," Sam said, grinning. He mouthed, "Sucker!" to Finn as they walked to the dance floor.

Puck shook his head, looking back at Finn and Quinn. "Why don't you two come back to the bar, let me fix you a drink. I was the bartender here for five years," he told them as they walked. "Finally saved up enough money to buy the place."

"That's amazing," Quinn said, sitting on a stool. "Isn't that amazing, Finn?"

"Yeah, awesome," Finn said, trying to keep his eyes away from Sam and Rachel on the dance floor. He was going to kill his friend. Wait, no he wasn't; Sam wasn't his friend, he was an evil, backstabbing, opportunistic…

"Finn?" Puck said again.

"Sorry, what?"

"What do you want to drink?"

Finn shrugged. "I don't really drink," he told the other man. "Do you have beer?"

"Man, you don't want a beer," Puck told him. "Tell you what, I'll fix you both my specialty."

"What's it called?" Quinn asked.

"Rachel calls it my Jew Brew," Puck said, laughing. "I call it my bestseller. It doesn't really have a name yet."

He mixed the drink and set their glasses in front of them. "Doesn't this have alcohol in it?" Quinn asked. "It's so sweet and delicious!"

"There's actually quite a bit of alcohol in it," Puck told them, thinking to himself that he should name the drink after Quinn. Sweet and delicious indeed. He looked at Finn. "What do you think?"

"Better than beer," Finn said, grinning.

"Puck!" someone called from the back. "Need you!"

Puck rolled his eyes. "I'll be back," he told them, his gaze lingering on Quinn.

Finn looked out at the dance floor again and shook his head. "Let's dance."

Quinn's eyes widened as she looked at him. "Seriously?"

"Yeah," he said, bristling a little. "I'm not _that_ bad."

Quinn tried to maintain a straight face. "Okay, then. Just don't hurt me."

Finn grumbled under his breath as they moved out to the floor. "You look different tonight," Quinn told him.

"Different how?" he asked as they started dancing.

"More like you belong here," she said.

"I don't," he told her. "I think that's pretty obvious."

The music changed to something slower after the song ended, and for that Finn was grateful. He pulled Quinn closer, happy he could at least shuffle his feet to this music. "You like Rachel, right?" Quinn asked him, her head on his chest.

"I don't think I like her," he told her. "I just think she's interesting." Interesting wasn't really the word for how he found Rachel, but he wasn't ready to admit that to anyone yet, even himself. "How do you know Puck?"

"I met him yesterday after I left your room," she told him. "Finn, we're not dating. It's perfectly fine for you to go out with someone."

"I know we're not dating," Finn told her. "But I don't want to hurt you."

"I'm a big girl," she said, smiling up at him. "You don't owe me anything."

"Hey," Rachel said to them. "Sam told me to tell you that he found what he was looking for."

Finn looked around and saw Sam dancing in a Brittany and Santana sandwich. He shook his head, laughing at how excited his friend looked.

Rachel began to walk off and Quinn stopped her. "Hey Rachel, will you dance with Finn? I'd like to go back and finish my drink."

Rachel looked at them for a moment before shrugging. "Sure," she said.

"Don't do me any favors," Finn said as Quinn left the dance floor.

"I wouldn't," Rachel said, smiling at him as she moved into his arms. "I love this song." Finn had never heard it before in his life and said so. "I haven't either," she said.

"When does Mercedes Jones get here?"

"She'll start in a few minutes. She's already here."

"Sam will be so torn," Finn said. "He loves Mercedes, but he's dancing with the two new loves of his life."

Rachel laughed. "He'll have to make a choice."

"I'm betting on Mercedes."

"Me too."

"I think I sort of like this place," Finn said after a few minutes. "I still don't feel like I belong here, but it's exciting." In truth, he didn't know how much of that was because of the club and how much of it was because of Rachel.

"I love it," Rachel told him. "I'm so proud of Noah." She looked up at him. "He has a huge crush on Quinn," she said, watching for his reaction.

"Really?" Finn said, looking over at the bar. The two were laughing over something Quinn had said. "What do you think about that?"

Rachel shrugged. "I was afraid you'd be upset."

"Why?"

"Because you and Quinn…?"

"There is no me and Quinn," he told her. "Never has been. I care about her, but we're just friends."

Rachel nodded. "Good," she said.

"Good?"

"She seems like a nice girl," Rachel told him, "and when I see something I want, I go after it. Nice girls be damned."

"What do you want?" he asked, looking down into her eyes. Her body was pressed close to his and he would swear he could feel her heartbeat speed up. He wasn't sure how much longer he'd be able to stand on the dance floor holding her without making some sort of move. The move would most likely be running out to the van and locking himself in it, but that was still a move.

"I am totally infatuated with this nerdy guy I almost hit with my bike," she told him. "He seems so adorably clueless at times..." she ran her hands down his arms, "but then he's funny and charming and a bit of an ass. And there's something about him…something good. Something I like."

"You're talking about Sam, right?" he asked, smiling crookedly.

"Oh, of course," Rachel said, laughing a little.

"I think I may have to kill him," Finn told her, his hand sliding under her shirt and his thumb caressing the warm skin he found there.

"Why?" she asked, gasping as a shock of heat moved through her body at his touch. She'd never felt like this with anyone, not even Brody.

"When I see something I want, I go after it," he told her, looking into her eyes. "Nice guys be damned."

"Maybe we can keep Quinn and Sam both safe," she murmured, her fingers running back up his arms to wrap about his neck.

"How?"

"I'll just settle for you," she said softly. "And you can settle for me. That way, no one gets hurt."

"If we must," he said, lowering his head until their lips almost touched. Rachel held her breath, afraid that if she moved she'd scare him away.

The music turned into something faster as his lips met hers. She deepened the kiss, her tongue stroking his as he pulled her closer. He groaned, setting fire to her blood. One of his large hands covered her back as the other caught in the hair at the nape of her neck, pulling her head back so his lips could travel down her neck.

Both forgot where they were as people danced around them, Finn only coming to his senses when someone bumped into them. "Oh man, Rachel, I'm sorry," he said, pulling away. "This isn't the place…"

Stunned, Rachel just stared at him for a moment. "What?"

"I shouldn't be treating you like this in public," Finn said, running a hand through his hair.

"Oh," Rachel said, still feeling his lips on her skin. She shook her head, trying to clear it. What was it about this guy that made her forget everything?

"I'm surprised Puck didn't come over and hit me," Finn was saying.

He looked really upset. "Finn," she said, touching his arm. "It's okay. It was just as much me as it was you."

Someone jostled Rachel from behind and she looked over to find Brody standing there. She almost groaned aloud; he was one person she did NOT want to see.

"What the hell is this?" Brody asked, stopping beside the couple. "You fucking this loser, Rach?"

"You shouldn't be here," Rachel told him, tensing up. She recognized the tone of his voice; something bad was on the way. She tightened her hold on Finn's arm as he started to move in front of her. "Noah doesn't want you here."

Brody glared at Finn. "You're the asshole that jumped me last night," Brody said. "Nice shiner."

Finn grinned, baring his teeth. "How's those ribs?"

"Seriously, Brody, get out of here," Rachel said, interrupting. "We don't want any trouble."

"Oh, you've got trouble," Brody told her. "Tell your brother I'll remember this."

Rachel nodded, turning away from him. Finn watched him until he left the building. "Is he gone?" Rachel asked.

Finn nodded. "He's gone."

Rachel sighed in relief. "Thank God."

Finn shook his head. "I don't know what came over me. I don't belong here," he said. "I don't fight. Ever. I don't dance, I don't kiss sexy women, I don't dress like this…"

"Stop," Rachel told him. "Yeah, my life is a little crazy. Your life has been a little crazier since you met me." She leaned up and placed an open mouth kiss against his jaw. "Isn't it exciting, though?"

Finn closed his eyes, forcing himself to keep his hands off her. "Rachel…"

"I like this shirt," she told him, her hands wandering under it and across his stomach as she kissed him. "I liked the clothes you were wearing yesterday, too."

Finn was having a hard time keeping up with the conversation because her hands and lips were driving him crazy.

"I love that you took up for me last night," Rachel continued.

"Anyone would have," he said distractedly.

"That's not true," Rachel said. "They never have before."

"Then they're not men," Finn said, looking down at her.

"As for the rest…you think I'm sexy?" Rachel asked, grinning.

Finn groaned. "Of course I do," he told her.

"Good to know," she said, laughing.

"You're the most maddening woman I've ever met," he said, smiling a little.

Rachel wrapped her arms back around him. "Still interested?"

Wrapping his arms around her, Finn kissed her again, and then placed his forehead against hers. "Hell yes," he said. "God help us both."


	4. Chapter 4

Finn noticed that Rachel was nodding off and nudged her. "You ready to go?" he asked her.

They'd been at the club for hours; it was now 2 am and the club had closed at 1. They'd sat around a large table talking and getting to know one another. Well…Sam didn't really talk. He mostly just stared at Mercedes Jones.

Rachel nodded sleepily. "You don't have to take me home," she told him again. "I'm sure everything is fine."

Everything might be fine, but Finn had an uneasy feeling about Brody. "I don't mind," he told her. "Puck said I can borrow his car and then he'll bring your bike over tomorrow morning and swap. I'll just take a cab home."

"That sounds like a lot of trouble."

"It's not," he told her, slowly standing. "Hey guys, I think I'm going to go ahead and take Rachel home." He looked at Artie. "You can get Sam and Quinn home?"

Artie nodded. "I'm staying over at Sugar's tonight," he told Finn. "You got your key?"

Finn nodded. "It was nice meeting you, Mercedes."

"Nice meeting you too, Finn," Mercedes said, smiling at him. "Next time we'll have to sing together."

"Maybe," Finn said, grinning. "Maybe not." He looked down at Quinn. "You going to be okay?"

"Yes," she told him, glancing over at Puck. "I'm good."

"You guys may have to use a vice grip to pry Sam away from Mercedes," Finn told them. "Don't hesitate."

Sam stopped staring at Mercedes long enough to glare at Finn. "Goodnight _Rachel_," he said pointedly.

Rachel laughed. "Goodnight everyone." She kissed Puck on the forehead and told him she loved him, and then followed Finn out the door.

"It feels good out tonight," Finn said, looking up and wishing he could see the stars.

Rachel nodded. "I'm glad you were ready to go," she told him as he opened the door for her and she slid into the car. "I don't think I can stay awake much longer."

Finn walked around the car and got in. "I have a big test tomorrow," he told her as they started moving. "I really should have studied tonight."

Rachel looked at him. "Regrets?"

"Surprisingly, none," he said.

"Good."

They talked about how easily their friends had gotten along, almost as if they'd always known each other. "I think it's really good that Puck has his own business. He told us he was the bartender for five years, but how could that be? You guys are around my age, right?"

Rachel laughed. "Noah has never really cared much about little things like the law," she told him. "When he started working there he used a fake ID and said he was already 21. Mac- the guy who owned the club- didn't really care one way or another. He figured Noah was lying but as long as he had that fake ID he wasn't too worried about it. We're 23."

Finn nodded. "Yeah, I can see that about your brother. I'm 22, but I'll be 23 before graduation."

"I figured that," Rachel said. "I'm robbing the cradle."

Finn shook his head, amused. When they arrived at her apartment building she waited in the car for him to open the door, alarmed to realize she was nervous. What if he made a move tonight? What if he didn't?

Finn helped her out of the car and held her hand as they walked to her apartment. "You really didn't have to bring me," she told him.

"I told you, I wanted to," he said as they reached her floor.

"Oh no," Rachel said, noticing a group of people standing around her apartment. "Oh no."

They walked quickly to her door, Finn tapping a policeman on the shoulder. "What happened?"

The officer looked over at him and shrugged. "Neighbor called it in, said he was afraid someone was robbing this apartment."

"This is my apartment," Rachel said, close to tears.

"Ms. Rachel Berry?" he asked. Rachel nodded weakly.

"Come with me, please," the officer said.

Rachel looked at Finn. "Go," he told her. "I'll wait here for you."

He sat against the hallway wall, wishing he had Puck's cell number. He called Sam, but they were back at the dorm already; they'd left right after he and Rachel did. "Puck left when we did or I'd go back and try to find him."

"Thanks man," Finn told him. "I'll take care of it."

"Hey, Finn?"

"Yeah?"

"You had fun tonight, right?"

"Until this happened," he told his friend, hanging up. He _had_ had fun tonight. Now, though, he was mad as hell. He knew exactly who ransacked Rachel's apartment, and he was going to do a lot more than punch him this time.

"Finn?" Rachel said, coming out to the hall.

"Hey," he said, standing up quickly. "What did they say?"

Rachel shook her head, tears flowing as she ran to him and buried her face in his chest. Finn rubbed her back as he looked up at the officer. "How bad is it?" he asked the man.

"Bad enough," the officer told him. "Ms. Berry, do you have somewhere you can stay tonight? We're going to look for this Weston guy but it would probably be best for you to stay out of the apartment until we find him."

"She'll stay with me," Finn told him.

Rachel looked up at him. "You don't have to…"

"Shhh," Finn said, looking down at her. "Can we go now?" he asked the officer.

He nodded, looking at Rachel. "We've got your cell number; we'll be in touch."

"Thank you," Rachel said, wiping the tears off her face.

"Do you want to grab anything from your apartment?" Finn asked her.

Rachel shook her head no. "I just want to leave, please," she whispered.

"Did you call Puck? Or your dads?"

She shook her head again. "I'll tell them tomorrow," she told him. "I'm just…I can't talk to them tonight."

"Okay," Finn told her.

Rachel was silent on the way to Finn's dorm, looking out the window. The quieter she was, the angrier he got. By the time they got to his dorm room he felt like he was going to explode. "You're going to break the steering wheel," Rachel said as he parked the car. She took his hand and held it for a moment. "I know what you're thinking, but you have to let it go."

"Like hell I do," he said.

"This isn't your fight," she told him. "Noah and I can take care of it."

Finn knew Puck could do it, but that didn't stop him from wanting to be a part of it. "You're right," he told her. "It isn't my fight. But that doesn't stop me from wanting to go after him."

Rachel kissed his hand. "Thank you for that," she said. "I'm a big girl, Finn. I've been around for a while. I can do it. But it means a lot to me that you care."

He looked at her. "It scares me," he told her. "Have we even known each other long enough for me to care this much?"

"I guess so," she said, smiling a little. "Because I care about you too."

Finn's heart was beating so fast he was pretty sure he was going to die, so he opened his door and went around to open hers. They walked quietly to his dorm room, his hand shaking so badly- from rage? from Rachel? - he had trouble unlocking the door. Once they entered the room he grimaced. He should have cleaned up sometime in the past year.

"You'll need something to sleep in?" he asked.

"Yes," Rachel said, looking around. She went to his closet and found one of his shirts. "Can I wear this?"

Do you want me to die? he thought, but didn't say anything. He nodded. "That's fine. The bathroom is in there," he told her, pointing to the small door. "Let me know if you can't find something. There's an extra toothbrush in the medicine cabinet."

Rachel moved closer to him, kissing him on the cheek. "Thank you," she told him again before going into the bathroom.

When the door shut Finn looked around frantically, wondering what he was supposed to be doing. Figuring that she'd probably want to sleep in Artie's bed, he quickly stripped it and found some clean sheets and pillow cases. After it was changed he stood back and looked at the finished product. "It'll have to do," he said softly.

"What did you say?" she asked, coming out of the bathroom.

Finn turned to tell her about the bed but lost the ability to breathe when he saw her in his t-shirt. She was TINY…and she looked better in his shirt than he ever had. Because he was so much taller than her, the shirt hung down almost to her knees. "I, uh…" he cleared his throat, trying to look into her eyes. "I bed the fixed for you."

"You what?" she asked, grinning a little.

"I you'd the fixed. Bed the fixed. I FIXED THE BED FOR YOU." He rubbed his face with his hands, again wishing he could just go ahead and die.

"Thank you," she said, still smiling.

"You don't have to keep saying that," he told her. He pulled the blanket back. "Hop in."

"Are you going to tuck me in?" she asked.

"Yes," he told her. "In."

"Okay, okay," Rachel said, lying on the bed and curling onto her side, facing him.

He pulled the blanket over her, making sure her legs were covered. "Good night, Rach."

"Good night, Finn," she told him, closing her eyes.

He went to the bathroom and undressed, pulling on some old jogging pants to sleep in. He wondered if he should wear a shirt, too, but figured Rachel had seen more chests than his in her life. He turned off the light as he walked out, finding his way to his bed in the moonlight. He could tell she was sleeping by her deep even breathing. He needed to sleep himself.

He woke up when she got into the bed with him. "Rachel?"

"I don't want to sleep by myself," she said, putting her head on his arm. "Is that okay?"

Finn lifted the blanket so that it covered her too, moving his arm so it wouldn't fall asleep with her head on it. "Yeah," he said, still halfway sure he was dreaming.

"Go back to sleep," she said, sounding only half awake herself.

"'Night," he said. He'd later realize that he had to have been dead tired to even think about sleeping with Rachel lying in the bed beside him.

Rachel snuggled closer to him as he slept, unable to believe how sweet he looked in slumber. The moonlight shone over his features, making him look like an angel. She knew he'd hate that, but it was the truth. And his chest…it was solid and warm, with his heart beating to a steady rhythm, lulling her to sleep.

This was good. This was better than good. This was Finn, and he was perfect as far as she could tell. She just hoped that she didn't wake up tomorrow to find he'd been a dream.


	5. Chapter 5

She woke up confused about where she was. The sunlight from the window shone right in her eyes, practically blinding her. When she could (finally) see, she noticed Finn sitting at his desk, scribbling in a notebook as he read from a textbook. Since he hadn't noticed yet that she was awake, Rachel took this time to watch him. She was more than a little put out that he'd put on a t-shirt but it was sleeveless, so that was something.

Brody was all bulging muscle, and she'd thought she'd like that. Looking at Finn's toned but not massive arms, she smiled. He was sort of beautiful. His arms, his chest, his stomach, his butt…his smile, his eyes, his heart.

She lost the smile, realizing that she was falling for this man and she really didn't know that much about him. She'd have to fix that. Soon.

"I can feel you watching me," Finn said, grinning without looking up at her.

Rachel laughed, throwing the blanket off of her and stretching. She groaned, reaching for her phone on the floor. "I don't want to turn my phone on," she said. "I know Noah has probably been by the apartment by now…he'll have seen what happened. I bet he's called 100 times."

"You should call him," Finn told her. The brief glance he'd had of her legs was enough to make him decide not to look at her. Ever again. She moved on the bed and he looked without meaning to, mentally cursing himself as his eyes once again fell on the flawless tan length of her thigh. She was so tiny; how were her legs so long? The woman was 90% legs.

Did she know he was checking her out? He chanced a brief glace at her, finding her staring at his arms. Dropping his gaze back to his book, he smiled. Well that made him feel a little better, anyway.

"He's going to yell," she told him. She sighed and got up, walking into the bathroom. Finn didn't look. He was afraid he'd follow her in there.

Rachel used the bathroom and went to the sink, washing her hands and brushing her teeth. What is wrong with you? she berated herself in the mirror. He's just a guy. Just a normal, average, every day guy. Stop staring at him!

But he wasn't a normal guy. He definitely wasn't average…he was adorable. No, more than that. He was so much more than that. She put her toothbrush up and looked at herself in the mirror. "Stop being stupid," she said to herself quietly.

She walked out of the bathroom, planning on calling Noah. She looked over at Finn, sitting at his desk studying, and changed her mind. Walking over to him, she waited until he sat back and looked up at her before she lifted her leg over his and sat on his lap, facing him. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she smiled. "I can't get you out of my head," she told him.

"Yeah?" he asked softly. He bent his head and placed a slow, gentle kiss upon her lips. Pulling away and looking down at her, he smiled crookedly. "I can't get you out of my head either," he told her. It felt good to say it.

Rachel's heart was beating so loudly she was sure he could hear it. This was new for her…she'd never been so completely unnerved by a kiss before. Her eyes held his and she could tell this was new for him too. "What are we going to do about it?" she asked him.

Finn shrugged, not taking his eyes away from hers. "I'm thinking about you all the time," he told her.

"Is it because of my body?" she asked. Such a stupid question, but she had to know. She didn't want to be a toy for anyone, especially this guy.

Finn frowned, and then shook his head. "I think about your legs a lot," he admitted. "And your butt." Rachel rolled her eyes. "But I think about your laugh a lot too. And your humor, your intelligence, your courage." He grinned. "Did I already say legs?"

Rachel laughed. "You're awful," she told him.

Finn nodded. "Probably," he said. "I guess the truth is that you intrigue me," he told her, putting his hands on either side of her face. "Your strength and your grace…"

"And my legs," she interjected.

"…and your legs," he finished, chuckling. "I like it all."

"Good," she told him, lifting her head to kiss him. He caught her bottom lip between his, his tongue caressing it as his fingers caught in her hair and pulled her closer to him.

"Rachel Barbra Berry, if you're in there you better open this damn door now!" Puck yelled from outside the room, beating on the door.

"Oh crap," Rachel said, sliding off of Finn's lap and looking around for her pants. "Oh crap!"

Finn stood, not sure what he was supposed to do. "Finn!" Puck called from the other side of the door. "Finn Hudson, open the door!"

"Coming!" Finn yelled, looking at Rachel. She was pulling her jeans up, buttoning them. She motioned for him to open the door and he went to it, taking a deep breath. He opened it to find a frantic Puck, fist raised as if to beat on the door again.

"Rachel?" he asked Finn, looking behind him to see his sister standing in the middle of the room. "Rachel," he said, striding to her and grabbing her in a hug. "Oh God," he said, holding her. "I went to your apartment and didn't know where you were or if you were okay…" He pulled away from her and did a cursory search, making sure she wasn't bleeding or bruised. "Why didn't you answer your damn phone?"

"I just didn't want to talk to anyone," she said. She hadn't realized Puck would be worried about her; she just thought he'd be mad about Brody and rage for hours. "I'm so sorry, Noah. I didn't mean for you to be worried."

"Have you seen your apartment?" Rachel nodded, her lower lip trembling. "I thought you'd been in there," Puck said, hugging her again. "I thought it happened after you got home."

"I'm sorry," she said again, her voice muffled by his chest.

"It was that fucker Brody, wasn't it?" Puck asked, angry.

"Finn and I think so," Rachel said.

Finn winced, wishing she had just let Puck continue to forget he was there. Puck turned around and looked at him. "You were with her when she went in?" he asked Finn.

Finn nodded. "I didn't go into the apartment, but I saw enough of it."

"I'm glad you were there," Puck told him. "Rachel's been lucky to have you the last couple of nights." Before Finn could respond, Puck looked back at his sister. "Don't ever let something like this happen again, Rach. I mean it. I was sick, thinking something had happened to you."

"I won't," Rachel promised him sincerely.

"When are you going back to your apartment?" he asked her. "I can help you clean up for a couple of hours before I need to be back at the club."

Rachel looked at Finn, who shrugged. "I have a class in thirty minutes," he told her. "You guys go ahead and I'll see you later tonight."

"Okay," Rachel said. She moved closer to him, kissing him on the cheek. "Thank you," she told him. "For everything. You're wonderful."

Finn smiled down at her. "Just remember that when we have our first fight."

He watched as she gathered her things. "I'll give you your shirt back tonight," she told him.

He nodded, watching her go. "Hey, Rach," he said when she got to the door.

She turned around. "Yes?"

"Neither of you do anything stupid, okay? Not until I'm there anyway."

She smiled at him, nodding. "I'll try," she told him, walking out and shutting the door behind her.

Finn shook his head, going back to his desk to try to study. He had a feeling they were both going to fail.


	6. Chapter 6

The next couple of weeks were spent in an easy pattern. Finn went to class and went to work, spending time with Rachel when he could. He'd take his books over to her house and study while she read on the couch beside him. He'd been surprised to find that she loved reading horror (she had an ultimate Stephen King collection), but was very okay with it when she'd read something creepy and snuggle up next to him.

Though they were more and more comfortable with each other, Finn knew they were leading up to the next step. He'd wanted to make a move so many times, but he always chickened out. He didn't want her to think he thought she was easy…because he knew better. But how could he make a move after only two and a half weeks and have her think anything else?

"I'm telling you, dude, two weeks is long enough to wait," Sam told him, lying down on Artie's bed.

"Sam!" Artie said from his computer desk. "Don't get anything gross on my bed."

"Yeah, yeah," Sam told him. "Tell him, Artie. Tell him two weeks is long enough to wait."

Artie sighed and rolled himself back from his desk, turning his chair to face the beds and the men in them. "This is 2012, Finn. People have sex after the first five minutes."

Finn shook his head. "I don't want this to be some tawdry affair. It feels so…real. I don't want to mess anything up."

"She's a stripper, for crying out loud," Sam said.

"Don't," Finn told him, the word full of anger. "Don't ever say that again."

Sam, realizing his mistake, shrugged. "Sorry."

"Rachel is a stripper, yes," Finn said. "That doesn't make her cheap."

"I'll refrain from making the joke you just walked into because I don't want to see your head explode," Artie told him. "Back to the point; I agree with Sam. Two weeks is long enough."

"I told you," Sam said. "You're bumming me out, dude."

"I wouldn't even know how to make a move," Finn said, closing his eyes. "Do you just move on from kissing or do you talk about it or do you just get naked?"

"Don't just get naked," Artie said.

"Yeah, you don't want to run her off," Sam agreed. Finn hit him in the side with a football. "Ow! Sam cried, rubbing the spot the ball hit. "Dick, that hurt!"

"It was supposed to," Finn told him.

"Seriously, though, you don't want to just get naked," Artie said again. "You have to set the mood."

"By kissing?" Finn asked again.

"Dude, you've had sex before," Sam said. He looked over at Finn. "You _have_ had sex before, right?"

"Of course I've had sex," Finn said, sighing and staring at the ceiling. "But those girls…not to be rude, but those girls didn't really matter."

"Rude," Sam said.

"Shut up," Finn said, laughing.

"Sex is still sex," Artie said. "You can romance it up all you want, but that would probably just make you more nervous. You need to just let it happen."

"How?"

Artie sighed. "When you're making out, isn't there always a point that if you don't stop it's going to end up in sex?"

Finn thought about it. "Yeah, I guess."

"Just don't stop," Artie said, shrugging. "Then, sex. The end."

"That's good advice," Sam said, nodding. "Why can't you be more like Artie, Finn?"

Finn glared at his friend. "Go out and get your own sex life and you won't be so worried about mine."

"Two things," Sam said, sitting up. "First, that's hurtful. You know I try. Second, how's hooking me up with Mercedes Jones going?"

Finn rolled his eyes. "I told you. She's coming back to town in another week. Rachel said that she'll ask Mercedes if it's okay to give you her number."

"That woman is a goddess," Sam said wistfully, lying back on the bed. He closed his eyes, smiling to himself.

"None of that needs to happen on my bed," Artie told him, not looking away from the computer.

Finn laughed, looking at his watch. His friend Mike was coming over, hopefully with some information for him.

Rachel wouldn't talk about Brody. Finn had spent the first couple of days after the attack trying to get information from her about the man but she always shut him down. He searched for Brody on the internet but couldn't find anything, so he'd called in Mike. Mike Chang was the resident computer whiz; he'd hacked into every protected website known to man…in his spare time. If there was anything about Brody on the internet, Mike would find it.

He felt a little guilty about going behind Rachel's back, but she wouldn't give him any answers and if he was going to protect her, he felt like he needed to know what he was up against. And yeah…he was still a little jealous.

Finn jumped up when there was a knock on the door. "Mike!" he said, slapping his friend five and grinning.

"Hey, man," Mike said, smiling back. "I brought you your info."

"Good," Finn said, letting Mike into the room.

"Sam, Artie," Mike said, going over to the little table Finn and Artie ate on and sitting down. "Bro, I thought you had something difficult for me," Mike told Finn.

"It was difficult for me," Finn said grumpily.

"This Brody dude was a cake walk," Mike told him, pulling his laptop out of his bag and opening it. With a few clicks Artie's printer started buzzing, startling Artie.

"How the hell did you do that?" Artie asked him, narrowing his eyes at the printer.

"I can do anything," Mike told them, looking at something on the computer. "You sure you want all this stuff?" he asked, looking up at Finn.

Finn thought about it for a moment. He still felt a tug of guilt about what he was doing. Sam walked behind Mike and looked at the screen. "No way, that's him? That dude is stacked."

"I want it," Finn said, making a decision.

Mike shrugged. "Don't say I never gave you anything," he said, hitting a few more buttons. "Done. All you would ever want to know and more about Mr. Brody Weston."

"Thanks," Finn told him.

"I added a little extra information in there, you'll see it."

"What is it?" Finn asked him.

"You'll have to see for yourself," Mike said, getting up. "Poker night tomorrow night, right?"

Sam nodded. "Bring lots of money."

"Why, so yours won't be lonely sitting in front of me?"

Artie laughed. "I'm taking it all tomorrow," he said. "My time is now."

"Artie, you're almost as bad as Finn," Mike said, laughing too.

"Hey Mike, quick question," Sam said. "Is two weeks long enough to date before you put the moves on a chick?"

"You finally trick some girl into dating you?" Mike asked.

"Why do you all mock me so?" Sam said, groaning.

"I think two weeks is a reasonable amount of time," Mike said. "Depends on the girl, though. If she's special, you may want to wait a little longer, feel her out."

"That's what I said," Finn told him.

Mike shrugged. "You'll know when it's right. Or she'll tell you." He looked at his cell phone. "Gotta go, boys, my lady awaits."

"Tell Tina we said hi," Finn murmured distractedly, looking at the papers.

"I will," Mike said. Before he reached the door, he turned around. "And no more clubbing without us, right?"

"Man, we can't dance if you're there," Sam complained. "You're too good. We look so bad in comparison."

"You look bad anyway," Mike told Sam, grinning. "But if I'm dancing beside you, you won't have to worry about it; no one will be looking at you." He winked and walked out.

Sam frowned while Finn looked through the papers. "He might be right," Sam said thoughtfully.

Finn sank down on the bed, reading. "What the…"

Artie shook his head, staring at the paper he was trying to right. "I told you you shouldn't do that," he told Finn.

"What? Is it bad?" Sam asked, walking over to Finn and trying to see what Finn was looking at.

Without a word, Finn turned the page upside down so Sam could see it. It was the side by side mug shots of Noah Puckerman and Rachel Berry.


	7. Chapter 7

It was raining so hard she could barely see the road, which added to her frustration. It had been a long day, full of arguing with her absolutely ridiculous twin brother. She had the beginning of a headache and wanted to scream.

What she really wanted was to just lie down with Finn. It scared her to realize how much she missed him when he wasn't around and how much she enjoyed spending time with him. She couldn't ever remember feeling this way about anything in her life.

Driving around her apartment building she did a double take; was that Finn standing in the rain? She rushed to get her car parked and walked out into the storm, looking for him. "What are you doing?" she asked when she found him pacing by the front door of the building.

"Rachel," Finn said, surprised. He had obviously been standing there for a while; his clothes were soaked through.

"Finn, what are you doing out here? It's pouring! Come in!"

When she took his hand and walked toward the entrance of the building he pulled back. "What are we doing?"

Rachel looked at him, blinking against the rain. "What?"

"I don't know anything about you, Rachel."

Rachel shook her head. "You do," she told him. "Everything that matters."

"The other stuff matters to me," Finn told her. "All of it matters to me."

"Finn, really? We need to get inside."

"Would you listen to me?" he asked, frustrated. "Just listen to me."

Rachel threw her hands in the air, her wet hair already plastered to her face and neck. "Fine, Finn. Fine. I'm listening."

"I really like you," he told her. "I know it sounds crazy because it's only been a few weeks, but I think I might even love you." Rachel gasped, her eyes searching his face. "But I can't keep pretending like you had no life before me. I'm sick of wondering what you're not telling me. I want to know you, really know you. I don't want to know only what you think I should know. I want to be a real part of your life."

"Where is this coming from?" Rachel asked him.

"I had a friend do some research on Brody," Finn told her.

"Finn…" she said, shaking her head. "I asked you not to."

"Yeah, well, I did."

"And?" she asked. "Did you find what you were looking for?"

"I didn't even get to his information," Finn told her. "The second page was your mug shot."

Rachel crossed her arms, nodding. "So that's why you're standing in the rain? Because you saw that I'd been arrested?" Finn shrugged. "Is it that big of a deal?"

"I don't know," Finn told her. "Is it? You've never mentioned it."

"What do you want me to do, Finn? Should I have mentioned it when we first met? Hey, by the way, I've been arrested?"

"It's been weeks, Rach. You've had plenty of time to mention it."

"And what if I had mentioned it and you decided that was too much? You had already seen so many bad parts of my life, but you were still here. What if that was the one thing that tipped the scales, made me not worth it?"

"So you're keeping parts of your life from me because you think they'll make me leave?"

"I don't know," Rachel said, throwing her hands in the air. "Maybe." She sighed. "Yes."

"But I've told you," he said, stepping closer to her. "I've told you that I care about you and want to know everything about you."

"But…"

"Your arrest record, your favorite color, what you were like when you were a little girl…I want to know all of it," he told her. "When I said it, I meant it."

"I'm not like you, okay? I'm not clean and good. My life isn't that."

"Rachel," Finn said, moving even closer. "You are good."

There was no humor in Rachel's laugh. "I think we both know that's not true."

"I've been here. I've seen it," he told her. "You're good, Rachel. No matter what happens around you, you're good."

Rachel shook her head, horrified at the tears in her eyes. "I really like you," she told him. "I don't want to do or say anything that will run you off."

"You can't run me off," he told her, taking her face in her hands.

"Isn't that why you came today? To tell me you found out about my past and that we were done?" A few of the tears slipped down her face, mixing with the rain. "Did you come here to break up with me?" She felt like a child asking such a silly question, but she had to know.

"No," he said, looking down into her eyes, shaking his head. "No, I came to tell you that if I'm going to be the part of your life that I want to be, you have to tell me these things. I want all of you, Rachel. I don't want only half of you, I don't want the airbrushed version, I want it all. I need for you to be honest with me. We can't do this thing unless you're willing to open up to me."

"I think you believe that," Rachel said. "But what happens when I let you all the way in and you change your mind?"

"I'm not changing my mind," Finn told her firmly. "You have to trust me."

"But I'm scared," she said, her words barely audible over the sound of the rain.

"I'm scared too," he told her. "I'm scared that you're going to push me away or that you'll realize how much of a dork I really am and decide that I'm not cool enough for you."

"You are a dork," Rachel said, smiling even though she was still crying. "But I like that."

"Can you just let me in?" he asked, his eyes searching hers. "Can we just try?" Rachel was silent for a moment, and then nodded slowly. "Yeah?" Finn asked, smiling.

"Yeah," Rachel said, smiling back and closing her eyes as his lips covered hers. She tasted the rain and her tears, her lips opening under his as he pulled her closer and deepened the kiss.

"Maybe we should go in now," Finn told her. Rachel nodded, taking his hand and leading him into her apartment building. She stayed close to his side as they rode the elevator to her apartment, her head against his chest.

They dripped down the hallway, making a mess. "We should probably clean this up," Finn said, looking behind them. "What if a little kid or an older person falls?"

Rachel smiled at his words, realizing again how good of a heart he had; she would have never thought of cleaning up the water. Finally getting into her apartment, she went to the closet and grabbed her mop. "Here," he said, taking the mop. "I'll do this while you get changed."

Rachel stood at the door for a moment, just watching him. Her neighbor walked out of his apartment and Finn nodded and smiled at the man, continuing his work. Rachel shook her head as she walked to her closet, pulling out some of Noah's extra clothes for him and dry clothes for her. He really was wonderful. When she'd found out he'd seen her mug shot, she'd been sure he was going to break things off…and she'd felt so lost in that moment she was sure her heart had stopped beating.

If it's that bad now, she mused, how bad will it be if they were together for six months? A year or two? Would losing him be the end of her? She stared unseeing into her closet as she thought about that. She couldn't lose herself so completely in a man; it went against everything she'd ever believed.

He came back into the apartment and shut the door, shaking his head like a dog and throwing water everywhere. Her resolve, so firm only seconds ago, was suddenly shattered. Even if this- whatever it was- destroyed her in the end, she needed it now.

She walked to the couch and dropped both sets of clothes, her eyes on him. He looked up at her, smiling. "Sorry about the water. I'll clean it up."

Rachel kept her eyes on his as she lifted her wet t-shirt over her head, exposing her goose bumped flesh and surprisingly normal white bra.

Finns smile slipped from his lips as he watched her, afraid to move. She didn't look away as she unbuttoned her jeans and slid them down her legs, stepping out of them and tossing them on the ground beside her. Her normal white bra combined with her normal white panties against her anything but normal body made him weak in the knees. The wet cotton molded to her body, her dark nipples clearly visible beneath the cloth. Finn refused to look lower, because he was pretty sure he'd just drop dead. "Rachel?"

Rachel walked close to him. "Why don't we get you out of those wet clothes?" she said, taking the mop away from him and propping it against the wall.

"But that was holding me up," Finn said distractedly, unable to take his eyes off of the sight of her body. Was she steaming? She should be steaming.

Rachel grinned, pleased with his reaction. She reached for his shirt, pulling it up as high as she could. Finn bent over, letting her pull it the rest of the way off. After dropping it onto the floor, she ran her hands over his chest, her lips following as she placed hot open mouthed kisses across the expanse.

"Rachel?" he said again, his voice several octaves higher than usual.

"Aren't those pants uncomfortable?" she asked him, looking up into his eyes as she unbuttoned them, sliding the zipper downward with exaggerated slowness.

Finn shifted, causing her hand to brush against his skin. He hissed as if he'd been burned, grabbing her wrist and looking at her. "Are you doing what I think you're doing?"

Rachel shrugged. "What do you think I'm doing?"

"I think you're trying to seduce me," he told her.

Rachel laughed out loud. "And if I was?"

"Shouldn't I be trying to seduce you?" he asked, wanting more than anything to stop talking but unable to do so. "I mean, I wouldn't force you into anything you didn't want to do or anything. Maybe just stick my hand under your shirt or something."

"Finn," Rachel said, sliding his soggy pants down his legs and off of him, grinning again as he almost fell, "I don't really care who seduces who, so long as it happens now."

"Oh," Finn said, standing in front of her with only his teddy bear boxers on. Rachel was pretty sure she was in love when she noticed the teddy bears had stethoscopes. No doubt a gift from his mother, who loved her premed son and was so proud of him. "Well, just give me a sec," he said, turning his back to her.

Rachel was staring at his back, confused, when he turned back around quickly and winked at her. "Hey, Rach," he said. "I like your panties."

She'd never laughed so hard in her life. Her vision blurred, tears of laughter filling them and falling down her face. She couldn't breathe. After she was able to control her laughter, she looked up at him to find a hurt expression on his face. "Oh baby," she said to him, still chuckling a little. "I'm so sorry." She wrapped her arms around his neck, shivering at the contact. "You're just the most adorable thing I've ever seen."

"I'm not trying to be adorable," he said, disappointed. "I want to be sexy."

"You are," she told him, playing with the hair at the nape of his neck. "You're the sexiest man I've ever met."

"You don't have to say that," Finn told her, kissing her lightly. "But you should say it again if you feel like it."

Rachel laughed again, her dark eyes locked with his warm brown ones. "Will you carry me to the bed?"

"Will you stop laughing at me if I do?"

"I promise," she said. He scooped her up into his arms and carried her to her bed, pausing beside it.

"So, do I put you down now or…?"

"Yes, please," she said, trying not to smile. "Finn," she whispered against his neck as he lowered her, "you're absolutely perfect."

Every man would want to hear that, and Finn was no exception. He grinned down at her, his shyness forgotten for a moment as his hands ran along the sides of her body, his thumbs running under the cloth of her bra and sweeping over her taunt nipples.

Rachel made a noise in the back of her throat as her back arched, her skin begging for more. Finn dropped to his knees before her, their faces almost even. He wrapped his arms around her and fumbled with her bra strap for a moment, sighing with relief when it finally came undone. As he pulled the material away from her and more of her skin became visible, he took a deep breath. Her skin was flawless, gorgeous. His mouth covered one nipple, sucking lightly. Rachel moaned, a shot of fire moving straight through her. Her fingers tangled in his hair as his mouth moved from one breast to the other, his tongue flicking over the sensitive skin as his hands cupped her butt, pulling her closer.

He pushed her back on the bed, his lips blazing a trail down her stomach, his fingers slipping beneath her underwear to find her wet and ready for him. He groaned, sliding a finger into her, closing his eyes when she tightened around it. "Finn," she panted as he moved his finger in and out of her. The sound set his heated blood on fire. When his lips got to the top of her panties he used his free hand to rip the fabric away, his kisses traveling lower. "What are you doing?" she asked, sitting up on her elbows and looking at him through heavily lidded eyes.

"Shh," he said against her skin, his breath blowing against the sensitive nub at her center.

"Finn…" she said, uncertain.

His tongue covered the nub, circling around it. Rachel's body jerked in reaction, squeezing around his finger. Finn shook his head, trying to control his own body; he was so hard it was painful, but he wanted to please Rachel first. It had been a while and he wasn't sure how long he could last.

He tongue kept swirling against her as he added another finger inside of her, increasing the pace of his ministrations. On the bed, Rachel shook, her hand covering her mouth as loud moans escaped her. She rested her legs on his shoulders, her hips jerking wildly against his tongue.

He watched as her climax built, rising and freeing himself when she reached the edge. She looked up in confusion as he buried himself into her, pushing her over. She cried out and thrashed around him as he pumped into her, quickly finding his own release as she milked him. His tongue met hers as he poured into her, his hands tightly gripping the skin of her hips.

Rachel felt like sobbing as her body twitched, not entirely sure what had just happened. Everything had fallen apart before her eyes, her body tensing for a brief moment before exploding. She clung now to Finn's chest, burying her face into it as he wrapped his arms around her.

"Oh my God," she said after a moment, her breathing still ragged.

"Are you okay?" he asked her, kissing her forehead.

"I've never felt like that before," she told him, looking up into his eyes.

"Me either," he told her. He pulled the blanket over them both, making sure Rachel was completely covered before resting his head back against the pillow. "Rest," he told her. "We can talk about it later."

Rachel nodded, closing her eyes. Finn was here and he wasn't going anywhere. As soon as her body recovered from the most mind blowing sex she'd ever had, they could talk.

Yeah, right, talk. She fell asleep smiling at the thought.


	8. Chapter 8

They spent the rest of the night in her bed. When one of them would wake up, they'd reach for the other and it would start all over again. Finn was still halfway convinced he was dreaming and freaked out a little every time he woke up.

"So…my arrest record," she said around 3 am.

Finn propped himself up on his elbow and looked down at her. "You want to talk about it?"

Rachel shrugged, turning her head to look at him. "Don't you think we should?" He nodded and she sighed. "It's honestly not that big of a deal. When Noah and I turned 18, we broke into a bar and sang and played on the stage until the cops showed up. I don't know what we were thinking; it was so stupid. Eighteen didn't mean we were grown up…it meant we could go to jail."

"Yeah, that's kind of crazy," Finn said, frowning. "Why?"

Rachel laughed, shaking her head. "Young and dumb, I guess," she said. "Thinking about it now I can't believe we thought it would be okay. Can you imagine?"

"Not really."

Rachel rolled her eyes at him. "We're so different," she murmured, rolling on her side to face him. "Anyway, being arrested was probably the most terrifying experience of my life. It was bright and dirty and cold and just so horrible."

"Did you get fingerprinted?"

"Yes."

"Did it take forever to wash off?"

"Yes," she said again, grinning at him.

"Did you go to jail?"

"No. Brody came to the station and told the cops that it was entirely his fault; he said it was just supposed to be a prank. He told them that he would go to jail for us, if they would just let us go. The cops didn't really care who went to jail as long as someone did, so they talked to the bar owner. He didn't care either, so they let us go and took Brody."

"Why would he do that?"

"He already had a record and didn't want me to go to jail," she said. "I know you've only seen the bad part of Brody, but he's been in our lives for years and at one point he really seemed to care about us."

"How could he go from keeping you out of jail to destroying your apartment?"

Rachel frowned. "Things just went wrong," she told him. "I don't know when it started or how…it just did. And then it started to go really wrong and everything was scary and crazy and I was afraid of him."

"Puck didn't say anything?" That didn't sound like the man Finn had come to know.

"I didn't tell him everything," Rachel admitted. "It wasn't his problem, it was mine. I didn't want to involve him in my mess, you know? And he and Brody were best friends, had been since we were little. He grew up in the house next to ours."

"Did he ever hurt you?" Finn asked quietly.

Rachel was silent for a moment and Finn felt his stomach clench. "I think what hurt the most was that he could treat me like he did," she finally said. "He treated me like someone he didn't even know, like someone who was worthless. I never want to feel like that again."

"You won't," Finn promised her. "I won't let you."

Rachel smiled at him. "You're good for me," she told him. "Probably too good for me."

Finn dropped his head back on his pillow. "Definitely not," he told her.

"Didn't you have class tonight?"

"Yeah. I skipped it."

"Finn!"

He shrugged. "I didn't even think about it."

She groaned. "I'm a bad influence," she said.

"I'll make it up," he said, wondering if that was even possible. He'd been getting further and further behind, which is exactly what his step dad had said would happen. He couldn't be that guy…the one that made it all the way to the end and then gave up. "I'm going to have to start working harder," he told her. "I can't lose my scholarships."

"I'm sorry," she told him. "What should I do?"

"I don't think there's anything you can do," he told her honestly. "If I'm not around you I'm thinking about you. If I am around you, I'm thinking about you."

"Surely there's something we can do," she said. "How about I only come over to your dorm after you're done with your studies? That way you won't have to worry about traveling and I won't be taking you away from your work."

"I don't want you traveling at night by yourself," Finn told her.

"Grown woman," she reminded him. "Besides, I can just sleep there and then come home in the morning."

He watched her face as she talked. "You wouldn't mind doing that?"

She kissed his cheek. "I wouldn't have suggested it if I did," she told him.

"It's only going to get worse," Finn told her. "Once I get into medical school…_if_ I get into medical school, things are only going to get harder."

"Then we'll just have to work harder to be together."

"Rach…" he sighed, shaking his head. "I can't ask you to give up so much of your time for me."

"Like I said, I wouldn't offer if I didn't want to do it."

"What about you?" he asked, looking at her. "What do you want for your future?"

"I don't know," she told him. "I just take things day by day."

"But don't you have a dream? Something that you feel passionately about?"

"Besides you?" she teased. When he rolled his eyes she continued, "I don't know…I've always wanted to…never mind."

"No, what is it?" he asked, tilting her face back up so he could look into her eyes. "Tell me."

"You'll think it's dumb."

"No I won't," he told her, hoping he was telling the truth. If she wanted to wrestle kangaroos or something, he wasn't sure he'd be able to keep a straight face.

"I've always dreamed of being on Broadway," she told him.

"Really?" he said, surprised.

"See? You think it's dumb!" Rachel accused, turning away.

"I don't," he told her. "I was just surprised."

"Why?"

"Don't you need to go to school or something to be on Broadway? Or do you just…go there?" He'd never seen a Broadway show in his life, but he was almost certain it was a pretty hard thing to get into.

"I thought about going to school," Rachel told him. "But I was afraid I wouldn't get in…so I didn't try."

"That doesn't sound like you," Finn said, frowning.

Rachel shrugged. "Things were bad with Brody at the time and I guess I felt pretty worthless. I've never really considered it again. I'm probably way too old now to even try."

"That's not true," Finn told her. "It's never too late to try." He kissed her cheek. "And you're anything but worthless."

She turned again to face him. "You think I should try?"

He nodded. "If it's something you want, you should," he told her. "My brother Kurt goes to some kind of dancing school here. Have you heard of NYADA?"

Rachel stared at him for a moment. "NYADA?" she asked. He nodded. "Finn, that's not a "dancing school,"" she told him. "That's the New York Academy of Dramatic Arts. That's my dream school."

"Oh," Finn said. "I sort of tune out most of the things he says," he admitted sheepishly. "Especially if it's about dancing."

Rachel laughed. "Your brother's a dancer?"

"He thinks he is. I don't really think what he does qualifies as dancing."

"Oh yeah? So why is he at NYADA?"

Finn shrugged again. "Dancing and singing, I guess."

"I'm guessing you two aren't close?"

"We are, actually," Finn said. "And I love him. I just don't want to have to listen to him go on and on about this show tune or that dance move or whatever. He doesn't like to hear about football or diseases. We just don't talk about those things. He knows I'm going to be a doctor, I know he's going to be a dancer…thing."

"Is he your younger brother?" Rachel asked, curious. Finn had never talked about him before.

"No, he's actually a few months older than me."

"Wait…what?"

Seeing her concerned expression, he laughed. "He's my step brother, but I call him my brother."

"Oh," Rachel said. "That makes sense."

Finn nodded. "He and his boyfriend Blaine both go to NYADA." He sighed. "Thank God for Blaine. _He_ likes football, at least."

"I can't believe there's so much about you I didn't know," Rachel said. "Any other siblings?"

"Nope. You?"

"Nope. I think Noah and I were quite enough."

"I can imagine," Finn said, grinning. If any twosome would create havoc, even as children, it would be those two.

"I want to have a lot of kids one day," Rachel said. "Five or six, anyway."

"Really?"

She nodded. "I've always dreamed of having a house full of kids. What about you?"

"I dream about passing tests and getting more than four hours of sleep," he told her. "I don't think I've ever really thought about kids." He was thinking about it now, though, and the idea of a little Rachel was way too appealing for comfort.

"That makes sense, you're still in school," Rachel said.

"Do you want me to see if Kurt can get you in to NYADA?"

Rachel laughed. "Oh Finn," she said, wrapping her arms around his waist and kissing his chest. "You can't just get other people into NYADA. There's a long process, and only the best get in. Plus, you've never even heard me sing. How do you know I'd be good at it?"

"You're good at everything," he told her. "I'll talk to Kurt, anyway. See what he thinks."

"Okay," Rachel said, thinking about how wonderful he really was.

"If we're both going to school, we'll be too busy to miss each other."

"Oh, I don't know about that," Rachel said, closing her eyes. "I think I'll miss you just as much."

"Yeah," Finn said before she went back to sleep. "Me too."


	9. Chapter 9

"As it turns out, Kurt really can't just get her in," Finn told Sam a few days later.

"What about Burt? Could he get her in?"

Finn narrowed his eyes at his friend, who shrugged. "Moving on," Finn told him. "How do we get Rachel into NYADA?"

"Dude, do you even know she belongs there? I mean, can she even sing?"

"Puck said she can," Finn told him.

"But you've never heard her?"

Finn shook his head. "I bet she's amazing, though," he said. "And I know she can dance."

"Your faith in the almighty Rachel isn't going to get her in anywhere," Sam told him. "Is everyone down for the club tonight?"

Finn nodded. "Yeah, they said they were. I think Quinn's more excited about seeing Puck than anything."

"That's sort of weird," Sam said, turning around in the mirror and admiring his muscle tone. "I didn't think she'd go for a dude like that."

Finn frowned at the book he'd been studying from before Sam had come over. "I didn't either. Think it'll be okay?"

Sam shrugged. "Puck seems pretty smitten too, so I think it'll be alright."

"Speaking of smitten, did you ever convince Mercedes to go out with you?"

Sam grinned at his friend through the mirror. "Of course I did," he said. "I just used the ol' Evans charm."

"Did you bribe her with something?"

"Shut up, dude," Sam said good-naturedly. "I told her I'd quit calling her if she went out with me," he admitted after a minute.

"So you just harassed her until she said yes."

Sam shrugged. "She could have just changed her number."

Finn laughed. "You are definitely a glass half full guy."

Sam walked back to the bed and sat, nodding. "A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do."

"Is she singing tonight?"

"Yeah," Sam told him. "Maybe Rachel can sing with her and we'll see if you should even be freaking out about trying to get her in." He made a face. "Which you're really not going to be able to do. Just throwing that out there. Again."

"We'll see," Finn said.

"You should play tonight. Maybe they'll let me play too. We haven't in forever."

"Yeah," Finn said, looking longingly at his drumsticks. His whole life he had wanted nothing more than to play the drums. But he grew up, changed his goals. He was going to be a doctor now, and that was way better. That's what everyone told him, anyway.

Rachel knocked on the door and then walked in. "Hey baby," she said, sitting on Finn's lap and kissing him. Finn held her to him, his tongue sweeping into her mouth. His hand was on its way under her shirt when Sam made a loud noise.

"Hey Sam," Rachel said sheepishly, looking over at him.

"It's about time you acknowledged my presence, woman," Sam said, flexing. "Notice anything different?"

"Your shirt's too tight?" Rachel teased, grinning.

Sam pouted. "Really? You think it's too tight? Should I change?"

Rachel laughed, shaking her head. "It looks fine. I was only kidding." She looked back at Finn. "Are you still riding to the club with me?"

"Yeah," he told her, kissing her again. He couldn't seem to help himself. "Are we still taking your bike?"

"Only if you're sure you're okay with it," she told him seriously. "If you're too nervous, we should just ride with everyone else."

"No, I'm not too nervous," he lied. He was terrified. He'd had a 4-wheeler in Lima, but this was something else entirely.

"I won't go too fast," Rachel promised him, kissing his cheek.

"Whoa," Sam said. "You're going to ride bitch?"

"What?" Finn asked as Rachel glared at Sam.

Pointedly ignoring Rachel's look, Sam grimaced. "Dude. You can't ride on the back."

"Why not?"

"Only chicks are supposed to ride on the back," Sam said, ducking to keep from being hit by the book Rachel threw at him. "It's true and you know it!" he yelled, running into the bathroom and locking the door behind him.

Finn looked at Rachel. "Is that true?"

"Of course not. Lots of men ride on the back."

"How many men have ridden with you?"

"Ridden with me? Several," she said, looking down a little.

Finn caught the look. "Rachel, look at me," he said. When her eyes were on his, he said, "How many men have ridden behind you on your motorcycle?"

She sighed. "None. Yet."

"So I would be the first?" She nodded. "No way."

"Come on, Finn, it's not a big deal," Rachel told him.

"It's called a bitch seat!" Sam yelled from behind the closed bathroom door. "Don't let her fool you!"

"Shut up Sam!" Rachel yelled back. She looked at Finn. "You've changed your mind, haven't you?"

"Rach, I can't ride on a bitch seat…"

"I can't believe you'd get hung up on something like this," she cried, throwing her hands up and getting off his lap.

"Look, I'm a dude, okay?" he said, standing himself. "I can't help it."

"It's stupid," Rachel told him.

Finn held out his hands, exasperated. "Maybe it is."

"No, it definitely is."

"I'm not riding behind you!" he cried out, frustrated.

"That's right, dude, you tell her!" Sam said in the bathroom.

"Shut up Sam!" they yelled in unison.

Finn watched her for a moment. "I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry too," Rachel told him. "I thought you were better than that."

"You know what? If you want to think less of me because I refuse to "ride bitch,"" he said, his fingers making a quoting gesture, "then go ahead. Judge away."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You're judging me, aren't you? Because I don't want my friends to make fun of me if I ride with you?"

"Who cares if they make fun of you?"

"Apparently I do," he told her. "Why is it not okay for me to feel however I feel, but it's fine for you?"

"You can feel however you want to feel," Rachel started.

"That's not what you've been saying for the last two minutes," he cut in. "You've been telling me how to feel because you don't like the way that I've been feeling." He frowned. "Or something. You know what I'm talking about!"

Rachel sighed, walking toward him and putting her arms around his neck. "You really won't ride with me? Maybe they wouldn't make fun of you."

"We would!" Sam called.

Rachel closed her eyes and shook her head. "Okay, never mind."

"I'm sorry," he told her, kissing her on the forehead. "Maybe I could drive?"

"You don't have a license," she reminded him. "And is the middle of New York City where you think you should learn to ride a Harley?"

He grinned crookedly. "Probably not."

"We'll go somewhere this weekend and I'll teach you," she told him. "Would that be okay?"

He nodded. "Are you still mad?"

"No," she said, smiling. "I can't stay mad at you. I blame your dimples."

"Are you still mad at me?" Sam asked, still in the bathroom.

"Yes!" she yelled to him.

"I can't stay in here, okay? It's a closed space and I'm freaking out. I'm going to open the door," Sam said, cracking it and peering out at them. "We good?" Rachel only stared at him. "You're not going to hold this against me, right? I'm just looking out for my boy."

"Oh, no, it's fine," Rachel told him. "Of course, you won't mind if I tell Mercedes that you went through a Justin Bieber phase, right? I'm only looking out for my girl."

Sam stared at Finn, betrayed. "Et tu, Finn? Et tu?"

"Sorry, man, she saw the pictures."

"It was only a month," Sam said, looking at Rachel pleadingly. "No one needs to know."

Rachel shrugged. "We'll see."

"Please, Rachel. I'll do anything. It's Mercedes Jones…"

"I won't say anything, I just wanted to see you sweat," Rachel told him, grinning.

"Oh thank God," Sam said, relieved. "Okay, I'm going to go finish getting ready. I'll be back in a few minutes."

After he walked out, Finn laughed. "You're going to tell her."

"What are you talking about?" Rachel said innocently.

"Your fingers were crossed."

She smiled, nodding. "That's what he gets!" she said.

"You think Mercedes will care?" he asked, pulling her down on the bed beside him.

"I have a secret," she told him, kissing his neck.

"Yeah? What is it?" He was trying to concentrate on the conversation but it was almost impossible to do with Rachel teeth nipping at him.

"Mercedes loves the Biebs."

"He'll thank you tomorrow," Finn told her.

Rachel nodded as his large hands slipped under her shirt to cup her breasts. "You can thank me now," she said.

Finn was always happy to oblige.


	10. Chapter 10

"Okay, okay, everyone calm down," Mercedes said into the mic. "It's that time, people." The crowd cheered and she nodded. "You know what time it is, you know." She squinted and looked into the crowd, her eyes landing on Rachel. "Rachel Berry, you get that cute little butt up here!"

Rachel laughed, looking at Finn. "Go," he told her, pushing her forward as the crowd parted to let her through.

She made her way to the stage, finally reaching it and hugging Mercedes. Finn was pretty sure the girlish scream that could be heard by the stage was actually Sam. The two women talked for a moment, and then Mercedes turned around and said something to the musicians.

"We're going to throw you some Rent," Mercedes told the crowd, which went wild. "I know, I know. You love it."

Finn wasn't sure what Rent was, but it sounded vaguely familiar. He pulled his phone out to record the song, planning on showing it to Kurt later if it was any good. When the music started, he was mildly uneasy. What would he say if it wasn't good? What if she was awful? Could he lie? Would Sam let him? Probably not. He suddenly wished that he was anywhere else.

When she started to sing, all those thoughts flew out of his head. Damn, she was good. He watched as she and Mercedes sang, realizing that even though he'd never heard the song it was now his favorite song in the world. If he could have taken his eyes off of her, he'd have found Sam drooling by the stage. He would have also probably realized that he was drooling a little himself.

By the time they got to the end, Finn had fallen in love all over again. He'd never seen this side of Rachel, and she blew him away. Her voice had hit him in the chest, taking his breath away. When the song was over, he realized that he was cheering with the crowd. Rachel smiled and looked out at him, winking.

Sam made his way over to Finn as they started another song, almost crashing into him. "Dude, she's amazing," he said.

Finn nodded, watching her. "I can't believe I've never heard her sing before."

"She's been holding out," Sam said. "You going to send it to Kurt?"

"Hell yeah," Finn said, looking down at his phone. He quickly sent the video to his brother before looking back up at Rachel. "I can't stop looking at her," he told Sam.

"Me either, man," Sam said, staring dreamily at Mercedes.

"You going to talk to Mercedes after the club closes?"

"Yeah. I need to go home and study, but it's Mercedes Jones, you know? How many opportunities am I going to get in my life to hang out with her?"

Finn shrugged. "You may get lucky."

"I'm already lucky," Sam told him seriously.

Finn knew the feeling. It was hard to believe that almost getting hit by a motorcycle had turned into the best thing that had ever happened to him. She sang a few more songs and then put her mic up, the crowd yelling for more. "Come on now, let her get back to her man, let the girl breathe," Mercedes was saying as Rachel walked off the stage.

Finn opened his arms when she got to him, hugging her tightly. "You're amazing."

She looked up at him. "You really think so?"

"You should already be on Broadway," he told her. "I can't believe how great you sound."

"Thank you," she told him, smiling widely. "I was worried you wouldn't like it."

"I was too," he told her honestly. She laughed and he shook his head. "I was going to light myself on fire as an excuse not to talk about it if you'd been bad."

"Good thing you liked it then," she said.

He nodded. "You saved my life."

"It's what I do."

"Yeah," he said, looking down at her, no longer teasing. "I think you probably do." He bent his head, kissing her.

Rachel moved into the kiss, her mouth opening under his, her tongue dancing with his as his arms wrapped tightly around her. He pushed her against the back wall, his hands toying with the hem of her shirt. She moaned, her nails digging into his arms.

"Get a room," Sam said, bumping into Finn and reminding him where they were.

"Shit, sorry," he said, pulling away from her.

"I know where there's a room," she told him, taking his hand and leading him through the club and behind the bar. Several people tried to stop her but she just smiled at them and kept moving. Finn followed, scared and more than a little turned on. This lady meant business.

She kept walking through a hallway, taking a right and opening a door. The room was full of crates and crowded; there was barely enough room for both of them in it.

After he'd closed the door behind him, she started to turn around but he stopped her by putting his hands on her hips and pulling her back. Rachel gasped, rolling her hips into his. His hands moved up her body, under her shirt, and cupped her breasts. She moaned as his large hands kneaded them, pushing the bra up and away from them. Keeping one hand on her breast, the other moved back down her stomach and dipped into the waistband of her jeans.

Rachel cried out softly as his finger slid along her wetness, sinking into her. Her hips moved against his hand as she laid her head back on his shoulder. Finn's lips found her neck, sucking on the sensitive skin.

Rachel felt like her entire body was being assaulted. Every nerve stood on end, her body shaking with need. As his finger moved her stomach clenched, waves of heat gathering in her loins. His teeth bit into her neck while his fingers pinched her nipple, sending her over the edge and causing her to scream out.

Finn's hand covered her mouth as his other unbuttoned her pants, pushing them down her legs. She felt him undoing his own pants behind her, her body still shuddering with her release. He walked her forward, leaning her over a stack of crates in front of them. The rough wood of the crates scratched again her chest, the feeling unimaginably arousing. She braced her hands against the crate as he roughly rammed into her, surprising her. She cried out behind his hand, closing her eyes as he pounded into her. His other hand reached around her, rubbing her as he moved.

Rachel's breaths turned to sobs, the pleasure every thrust brought bordering on pain. She couldn't breathe as she moved closer to the edge, pushing back into him desperately. He filled every inch of her, stretching her as he moved. Each thrust was harder than the last, with him pumping into her faster every time.

Her body tightened as her legs went out, her climax so intense she almost passed out. She shook wildly as she came, a strangled cry escaping her. She felt Finn move a few more times, groaning as he spilled into her.

"Don't let go of me," she said shakily, trying to catch her breath. "My legs won't hold me up."

"Are you okay?" he asked huskily, sliding out of her. "I'm sorry for being so rough…"

Rachel shook her head, leaning against the crates and still trying to catch her breath. "Rough is good," she told him. "Rough is very good."

Finn grinned behind her, the hand not holding her up running over her back. "You're sure?"

She nodded. "Very sure." She stood, her legs still shaking, and turned to look at him. "What was that about?"

"I don't know," he admitted. "I just needed you."

She nodded, bringing his face down to hers for a kiss. "I needed you too."

"Can you stand by yourself?" he asked.

Rachel nodded, leaning against the crates as he moved back to pull his pants up. He watched her as he did, his eyes roaming over her body. "You're beautiful," he told her. He bent, taking her jeans and pulling them up over her hips. When he'd finished with that he adjusted her bra, then put her shirt back down.

"Let's go to your dorm," she said.

"Really?"

She nodded. "You'll probably have to carry me to your room. You'll probably have to do most of the work. But I'm not done with you."

Finn grinned. "Sounds fair," he said, taking her hand and leading them out of the room. They left the club through the backdoor, hailing a cab.

Rachel sat in his lap as they rode, kissing his neck and jaw, ignoring the cabbie. Finn slid his hand up her leg, clenching his jaw as he kept himself from moving any higher. He wasn't going to give the cab driver a show, especially with Rachel as the star.

When they finally got to his dorm, Finn felt like he was going to explode. Rachel kept touching him, her tongue and teeth teasing him, her hands caressing him through his jeans. He kicked the door shut behind them, turning to grab her. "You're killing me," he told her, pulling her hips against his.

Rachel's eyes widened as she felt him, her breath catching in her throat. She pulled her shirt over her head and off, quickly getting rid of her bra. As he watched, she slid her jeans and underwear off, then kneeled in front of him. She unbuttoned and unzipped his pants, looking up to watch his face as she freed him. Finn gritted his teeth as her hand moved around him, his hips jerking forward.

Rachel licked the length of him, taking him into her mouth. Finn groaned, his hand catching in her hair as her tongue twirled against him and pushed himself deeper. She moaned and he felt the vibration throughout his body.

After a few moments he couldn't take it anymore. He pulled her up and pushed her down on his bed, burying himself inside her. Rachel cried out, her body still sore from their previous lovemaking. He kissed her as he stopped moving, feeling her body clench around him.

Her hips lifted to meet his and he looked down into her eyes, his question clear. "Love me," she said, moving against him.

Finn nodded, holding himself up on his elbows and picking up the pace, pushing deeper inside her. Rachel closed her eyes, wrapping her legs around him as he moved, small sighs escaping her lips. His hand moved between them, touching her sensitive flesh as she arched against him, her nails digging into his back. She cried out his name, begging him to go faster. He did, trying to hold off his own release as her body shook under his. He felt her muscles begin to milk him a moment before she began to moan loudly, her hips gyrating crazily under him. As he felt her release he pushed into her harder, finding his own.

He rolled over on the bed, pulling her with him. She kissed him deeply, then kissed his jaw. "You done with me yet?" he asked, grinning crookedly.

"For now," she told him, laying her head on his shoulder. "But not for tonight."

"Promises, promises," he said, pulling the blanket over them.


	11. Chapter 11

"No," he said again, walking away from her.

"Come on," Rachel called after him. "You weren't that bad!"

"I fell over!" he yelled, not turning around to look at her as he walked.

"That happens sometimes," she said. She tugged on his arm. "You can't give up, you'll never learn!"

"Why do we have to ride the bike at all?" he asked her. "Why can't we just drive?"

Rachel grinned. "Because I'm a biker babe and you're going to be my old man."

He smiled back, nodding slightly. "I do like the sound of that."

"Come on, just try again, okay?"

"What if I break your bike?"

"Then you can buy me a new one," she teased. At his sour look she laughed. "It's a Harley. It's not going to break."

"But I might scratch it all up."

"Stop being a baby and get on the bike!" she told him.

"I'm going, I'm going," he grumbled. He had ridden 4-wheelers all his life but he couldn't get the hang of this Harley. It was completely different.

He got onto the bike and started to put his helmet on. He felt Rachel slide onto the bike behind him. "Hey, hey, what are you doing? Are you crazy?"

"Maybe you'll ride a little better if you have some incentive," she said, wrapping her arms around him.

"Or maybe we'll both die in a horrific and bloody crash."

He felt her laugh against his back and couldn't help but smile. He started the bike and said a quick prayer, hoping he had been joking about the horrific deaths. He goosed the bike, causing them to jump forward. He then hit the brake to stop them, almost throwing them both off.

"Just relax," Rachel said behind him, running her hands along his arm. "Take a deep breath. You know how to do this."

Finn nodded, wondering how he was supposed to concentrate on riding a bike when she was touching him. Only a woman would take a nervous man and give him something else to be anxious about.

While he was focusing on Rachel's hands, he started riding. He wasn't even really aware of it at first, but then he realized what he was doing. "I'm doing it!" he cried. "I'm doing it!" He started to wobble a little bit and Rachel clasped him tighter. "I've got it," he assured her, not sure that was true.

"I trust you," she said loudly to be heard over the wind.

He rode around the empty drive in theater parking lot, moving between the poles and in front of the screens. After about an hour, Rachel asked him to stop. "Want to ride with me?"

"Can't I ride just a little longer?" he asked, not wanting to get of the bike.

"It's getting late," Rachel told him, looking at her phone. "I have something I have to do tonight."

"What?" Finn asked.

Rachel shook her head. "Woman stuff."

"Woman stuff?" Finn made a face. "I _am_ going to be a doctor. I know all about "woman stuff.""

"Not that sort of stuff," she said, laughing and elbowing him.

"I was hoping we could hang out tonight. I don't have class tomorrow."

"Maybe later tonight? I can call you when I'm done."

"Okay," he said, reluctantly relinquishing the handlebars and getting up. "I'll ride around with you a couple times, but don't tell Sam, okay?"

Rachel rolled her eyes. "Okay."

It wasn't that bad. His arms wrapped all the way around her, and having another reason to hold her was a win for him. He couldn't stop wondering what she was going to be doing later, though. No one had heard from Brody and that's immediately where his mind went. He didn't want to ask because he was afraid he was right.

He'd driven his car to the old drive in, so he drove home. Rachel waved as she turned off before him, heading to her apartment. He went to his dorm and took off his shirt, frustrated. He lay down on the bed, closing his eyes. He needed to relax. Rachel would tell him anything he needed to know. Right?

He hadn't meant to fall asleep, but he woke up when Rachel straddled him, her lips on his neck. "Hey," he said groggily, putting his hands on her hips. On her _naked_ hips. He smiled, his lips meeting hers as her breasts pressed against his chest. He lifted his hips so she could pull his jeans down, his hands moving to tangle in her hair as his tongue slipped into her mouth.

After a moment she smiled at him, moving down his body until she took him in her mouth. Finn groaned, watching her. Her tongue swirled around his tip, and then her mouth covered the entire length of him, sucking lightly. Finn's hips jumped, his body on fire.

Suddenly there were other hands on her breasts, squeezing them. Finn looked up and found Brody at her back, smiling at Finn as he slipped inside her. Rachel cried out around him, her mouth moving up and down on him as Brody pumped into her. Her eyes closed as her moans grew louder. "No," Finn said, trying to move away. "Rachel no!"

He sat up, shaking. "You okay?" Artie asked him, looking over from his desk. "You were making a lot of noise."

"I'm not sure," Finn said, putting his face in his hands. "But I don't think so."

"Is Brody Rachel's ex?"

"What?"

"You were saying something about Brody and Rachel," Artie said, shrugging. "Sounded sexy."

"Let's not talk about it," Finn said, feeling sick. "It wasn't a good dream."

"So you're afraid Rachel will cheat on you with her ex?"

Finn shook his head. "I don't think so," he said. "I think I'm just jealous of him."

"Why? You have Rachel."

"Yeah, but will I keep her?"

"Not with that attitude, mister."

Finn grinned. "Why are you here? I thought you were staying with Sugar tonight?"

"I am. I came over to use my computer in peace for a few minutes. Not that that did a lot of good," he continued under his breath.

"Sorry, man."

"It's okay, I was almost done anyway. Is Rachel coming over tonight?"

"Yeah, she'll be here."

"Stay off my bed. And my computer desk. You know the rules."

"Yes, sir," Finn said with a mock salute.

"And if you make her mad enough to destroy something, make sure it's _your_ something she destroys, okay?"

Finn nodded. "Got it."

"Where's Sam?"

"Out with Mercedes Jones. Can you believe that?"

"Stranger things have happened. Somewhere…I'm sure. I just don't know what they would be."

Finn laughed. "Me either."

Artie rolled by the bed, hitting Finn on the shoulder. "You've got this," he told his friend.

"I've got this," Finn repeated.

"She's your girlfriend and she loves you."

"She's my girlfriend and she loves me."

"I am the greatest man alive."

"You are the greatest man alive." Finn laughed. "Jackass."

"I do what I can," Artie said, leaving the room. "Good luck, bro."

"Thanks, man," Finn said. He was afraid he was going to need it.


	12. Chapter 12

Though it wasn't late when Rachel got in, Finn was half asleep when she lay down beside him. "Hey," he said, wrapping his arms around her. "Did you have a good time?"

Rachel nodded, kissing the underside of his chin. "I did. Want to see?"

"See?" Finn asked, cocking an eyebrow. "Sure." Rachel lifted the sleeve of her shirt, showing her bandaged wrist. "Rachel…"

She laughed a little. "It's not what it looks like," she told him, peeling the bandage off.

"Oh," Finn said when it was removed. "You got a new tattoo." He'd spent hours searching for tattoos on her body; she had little ones everywhere. She told him that anytime something important happened in her life, she got a tattoo to remember it.

"Yeah," she said, looking at the three small black birds in flight on her wrist. "Santana got a new one too, but I'm not going to tell you where."

Finn laughed. "I think I have a pretty good idea," he told her. "So what's the occasion?" he asked, nodding down at her wrist.

"You," she said, smiling shyly.

"Me?" he asked, shocked.

She nodded. "You." She held her arm out, admiring the new tattoo in the soft light coming from the partially closed bathroom. "I've always thought I was so free; I do what I want, when I want, and don't care what anyone thinks. But since I met you, I realized that's not really what free is." She put her hand down and looked at him. "Free is giving your heart completely to someone and living in that moment. It's putting everything you have into a relationship and just trusting that it's all going to work out." She smiled, lightly tracing the birds. "Birds are so free," she said softly. "And now I'm free too. Because of you."

He kissed her then. Every worry he'd had now seemed stupid. Rachel had told him repeatedly how she felt about him; it was his fault he couldn't believe her. He was afraid that it was too good, too perfect. Something had to go wrong, right? But things didn't always go wrong…and some people really did get their happily ever after. Maybe Rachel could be his.

"I love you," he told her, looking into her eyes and hoping she understood how much he meant it.

"I love you too," she said, smiling slightly and cupping his face in her hand. "And that's why I have to tell you something you probably won't want to hear."

Finn felt like he'd been kicked in the stomach. Shit. "Okay," he said, trying to stay calm. "What is it?"

"I talked to Brody," she told him. He flinched, pulling away. "Stop," she said, holding on to him. "He came by the apartment yesterday and apologized. He knew the cops were looking for him and he asked me to not press charges. He promised that he would stay away from me."

"Did you call the police?" Finn asked, his voice tight.

"No," she said simply. "I didn't."

"Why the hell not?" Finn demanded, sitting up.

"Because I owed him that," she told him, sitting up as well. "You're mad, huh?"

"Hell yes I'm mad, Rachel!" he said, running his hand through his hair. "He destroyed your apartment! Threatened you!"

"And he's sorry."

Finn snorted. "I bet he is."

"I told you, Finn, that I'm a grown woman and can make my own decisions," she said. "This was my decision." He looked away, disgusted. So Brody just got to walk free. It was bullshit. "When I was 18 and did something stupid, Brody took the fall for me. I didn't have to go to jail because he went for me. I couldn't send him again." She grinned at him, taking his face in her hand and forcing him to look at her. "And I told him if he ever made another move against me I would let you kill him."

Finn felt the smile creep slowly onto his face. "Did you really?"

She nodded. "I told him that you're very protective of me and that you will be for the next 70 years or so."

"At least 70," Finn corrected her, grinning back at her.

"So, we good?"

Finn nodded, kissing her. "I'm going to have to learn to trust you to make the right decision."

"Yes you are," she said between light kisses. "Fast."

He picked up her hand, looking at her wrist. "It's beautiful," he told her.

"It's all you," she said. "I thought about getting "Finn's" tattooed on my ass, but I thought that might be tacky."

"Yeah, maybe a little," he said, laughing. "I wouldn't complain, though."

"Oh, I bet you wouldn't," she said, biting his jaw lightly.

Finn rolled her under him, growling. "Wench," he said, dropping his lips to her neck.

Rachel sighed happily, wrapping her arms around him. He was the most perfect man she'd ever known, and she'd been terrified that she was going to lose him over the Brody thing. That's why she'd wanted to get the tattoo before she told him; she had to remember the happiness he brought into her life. If they'd broken up, there'd be nothing to remember but pain.

She'd just run her hands up his back and was taking off his shirt when someone knocked on the door. "Ignore it," she said, kissing his bare chest, flicking her tongue over his flat nipple as she tossed the shirt aside.

"Okay," he said, pushing his jean clad hips into hers.

She moaned, arching and rubbing against him. Finn completely forgot about the person at the door as he took her shirt off, his mouth sucking at her nipple through the sheer fabric of her bra. Rachel began to undo his pants as the door opened, a young man she'd never seen staring at them in horror. "Finn!" she cried, grabbing her shirt and covering herself.

"Sorry! Sorry!" Kurt said, turning around. "Should I come back in a few minutes?"

"Like three," Rachel said, bursting into laughter at Finn's scowl. She sat up, pulling her shirt back on.

"Hey," Finn told his brother. "I didn't know you were coming."

"Obviously," Kurt said dryly.

"I'm dressed," Rachel said after she'd pulled the shirt over her head.

"Good," Kurt said, turning around to look at them. "I apologize for my awkward entrance. I didn't think he was here, so I was just going to wait for him."

Finn got up and hugged his brother. "It's good to see you."

"It's good to see you too," Kurt told him. "School is making me crazy."

"I know how you feel," Finn told him.

"I actually came to discuss her," Kurt said, pointing at Rachel and smiling. "That video you sent me was amazing. I love Mercedes Jones, by the way. Have all her CDs."

"What video?" Rachel asked him, confused.

"I taped one of your songs with Mercedes and sent it to Kurt," Finn told her. "Sorry. I meant to mention it but we got…busy."

Kurt made a face. "Moving on," he said. "I showed your video to one of my teachers and she loved you. She's not in admissions, obviously, but she was able to get you an interview. Are you interested?"

Rachel felt the blood drain from her face. "Are you being serious? An interview for NYADA?"

Kurt nodded. "Very serious."

Rachel looked at Finn, shaking her head in disbelief. "NYADA?"

Finn grinned. "Sounds good to me."

"It _is_ good," Kurt told them, pleased with himself. "This is unprecedented. I'm awesome."

"Rachel's awesome," Finn said.

"Well, yes, that too," Kurt said, laughing. He told them the date and time of the interview and left, saying something about a date with a man named Blaine.

"I can't believe it," Rachel said, looking at Finn. "Can you believe it?"

"Of course I can believe it," he told her, hugging her close. "You're amazing."

"No," Rachel said, leaning her head against his chest. "You are."

"I'm not arguing," Finn said, laughing when she pinched him. "Should we finish what we started earlier?" he asked, his teeth scraping her ear.

"Let's just start from the beginning," she told him. "We may have skipped over something."

"Your wish is my command."


	13. Chapter 13

Why was he so nervous? He shouldn't be nervous at all. Rachel was the one that should have been nervous, but she'd been cool as a cucumber. Finn sat on a bench in the hallway, tapping his feet and intermittently praying.

He'd hoped Kurt could be here so he wouldn't have to wait by himself, but Kurt had a class he couldn't miss. "Hey," he heard from the end of the hallway.

"Blaine," Finn said, grinning. "Hey, man." He stood up, hugging Kurt's longtime boyfriend. "Did Kurt send you?"

"Of course not," Blaine said, and then laughed. "Well, he mentioned that you'd be here. And that you'd probably be freaking out. And that you'd be waiting alone…"

Finn nodded. "Sounds like Kurt."

"How long has she been in there?" Blaine asked him, sitting on the bench beside him.

"About ten minutes," Finn told him. He winced. "Does it take that long? Do you think something happened? Maybe we should open the door a little and check?"

"Dude, calm down," Blaine told him. "They'll talk a little first, get to know each other. Then Rachel will show what she can do and it'll be time to leave." He smiled. "Who's doing it?"

"Some woman named Cassandra July?"

Blaine's smile faded. "Oh. Oh dear."

"What?" Finn said, freaking out. "What's wrong with her?"

"No, I'm sure it will be okay," Blaine told him, his smile now too bright.

"You're lying," Finn accused, narrowing his eyes.

Blaine shrugged. "It's just that Cassandra July is a little…well, she can be a little…harsh?"

"Harsh? Like mean?"

"Eh…something like that."

"If you came down here to make me feel better, you're doing a shitty job," Finn told him, watching the door Rachel had gone in.

Blaine laughed a little. "Sorry. How's school?"

Finn shrugged. "Hard. I'm getting great grades, though."

"Heard back about medical school?"

"Yeah," Finn said, looking down a little. "I got in to UK…"

"UK? Like…the Ukraine?"

Finn narrowed his eyes at his friend. "The University of Kentucky."

"Might as well be in the Ukraine," Blaine mumbled. "You going?"

"I don't know," Finn told him. "I was really excited about it, but then…well, now there's Rachel. She's not going to want to live in Kentucky, especially if she gets in to NYADA."

"Maybe she will," Blaine told him. "What about the other places you've applied?"

Finn lifted his hands. "Still waiting."

"It's Columbia, right? That you're trying to get into?"

"Yeah," Finn said, grinning. "Crazy, right? The high school jock, straightening up and becoming a doctor?"

"I think it's a great story," Blaine told him.

"I just hope it isn't a story," Finn said quietly.

Blaine clapped him on the shoulder. "It'll work out. Have you talked to Burt lately?"

Finn shook his head. "Not on purpose."

"Finn…"

"I know, okay? I know he loves me. I know he's a good guy. I knew he didn't mean to hurt me. He did, though."

Blaine nodded. "I guess it would."

Finn had been walking up the steps from his room when he'd overheard his mom and Burt talking in the kitchen. He'd heard his name, so he stopped to listen.

"I'm not saying he's not smart, Carol," Burt had been saying. "I'm just saying that he's not getting into a good school if he keeps going the way he's going."

"I think he can get into any school he wants to," Carol had said.

"Not with his grades. Not with his attitude."

"What's wrong with his attitude?"

"You can tell he doesn't care about anything but the next touchdown and the next party."

"That's not true," Carol had said.

"It is." Finn heard Burt opening the fridge. "He'll expect me to get him into a good school and I don't know that I want to be a part of that."

Finn had stood in the stairway, shocked. He knew Burt loved him, but the man didn't seem to think much of his character. "I won't ask you for anything," he'd said, coming into the kitchen.

"Finn!" Carol had exclaimed, horrified.

"I'm going to get into college by myself. I'm going to be a doctor."

Burt sighed. "Finn…"

"No, it's fine," Finn told him. "I don't need anything from you."

And that had been it. His relationship with his stepdad had been strained since, but Finn had done everything he'd said he would in that kitchen.

"Maybe you should think of it like this," Blaine was saying. "You didn't have a direction until that moment. Now you do. You've been here, in New York, for four years. You've made friends, had fun, met Rachel. You might not have done any of those things if you hadn't heard what Burt was thinking."

"I've thought of that," Finn admitted. "I don't know, man. I'll think about it."

"Well, your mother can't wait to meet Rachel," Blaine told him. "It's all she talks about."

"Really?" Finn asked, smiling.

Blaine nodded. "You should invite them over. Or take Rachel there. It really would be nice."

"I might," Finn told him, wondering if Rachel would even want to meet Carol Hudson Hummel.

The door opened and Rachel walked out with a stunning blonde woman. "Hey," Finn said, standing up and smiling anxiously.

"My, he _is_ tall," the woman said, grinning up at him. "Cassandra July," she said, holding out her hand. As Finn shook it, she looked at Blaine. "Anderson."

Blaine nodded, swallowing nervously. "Ms. July."

"So, how did it go?" Finn asked, holding Rachel's hand.

"Oh, I think our little Berry here is definitely NYADA material," Cassandra said.

"Really?" Finn asked, his voice cracking. "I knew you could do it, babe."

Rachel grinned. "Ms. July has promised to teach me everything she knows."

"Which is a lot," Cassandra told them all. "Now I must be going. Try not to celebrate too hard."

Finn watched her walk off, and then looked at Rachel. "Is that really it? You're really in?"

Rachel giggled, putting her arms around him. "I think so," she said. She looked at Blaine. "Is it?"

Blaine nodded, still a little dumbstruck. "Yes, if Cassandra July wants you, you're in."

"Then I'm in!" Rachel said, bouncing.

Not that Finn had had any doubt. He hadn't been nervous at all.


	14. Chapter 14

It was Rachel's turn to be nervous. She wanted to meet Finn's mother but was absolutely terrified that the woman wouldn't like her. If Mama Hudson didn't like her, would it matter to Finn?

She looked over and watched as he drove through the winding curves of Lima, Ohio, seemingly perfectly content. Wasn't he nervous at all?

"Why are you staring at me?" he asked, looking over at her with a grin.

"I think I'm going to be sick," she told him.

"Should I pull over?" he asked, his expression alarmed.

"No," she told him. "I'm not car sick. I'm meeting-your-mother sick."

"Rachel," he said, laughing, "I've told you that you have nothing to worry about. My mother will adore you."

"Finn, mothers don't normally love hussy strippers that almost killed their sons with their motorcycles."

Finn snorted, still laughing. "You're not a hussy."

"She'll think I'm a hussy," Rachel insisted.

"Rachel, Kurt has already told her all about you. She still wants to meet you."

"Maybe she's never met a hussy before and wants to see what we're like."

"Rachel Barbra Berry, I will pull this car over if you don't stop referring to yourself as a hussy," Finn said, his voice mockingly stern.

"You could pull this car over and I could prove my hussiness to you," Rachel suggested, running her fingers up his arm.

"Don't tempt me," he said, clenching his jaw and watching the road, his smile gone.

"Isn't that what hussies do, though?" Rachel teased, leaning closer to him. "Don't they tempt and distract men with their feminine wiles?"

"If you start using your feminine wiles on me, we'll never make it to their house and she'll definitely think you're a hussy."

"Oh Finn," she said seductively. "I think you've forgotten how much you like those feminine wiles."

Finn gripped the steering wheel until his knuckles were white in an attempt to ignore _that_ tone. "Rachel," he warned. "I'm being serious."

She moved her hand to his leg, sliding it up his jeans and rubbing it against the growing hardness she found under them. "I'm being serious too."

She was going to kill him. It wasn't fair. But two could play at that game. "I have two hands," he told her, grinning and putting his hand on her bare thigh. "I can drive with one and play with the other."

"Finn," Rachel said, her breath catching as his hand slid up the inside of her thigh, his fingers moving across her panties. "Maybe this isn't a good idea…"

Finn ignored her, keeping his eyes on the road as he pushed her back against the seat, his hand moving back down and into the front of her underwear. He closed his eyes for a brief moment when he realized how wet she already was. His finger slid along the wetness, dipping into her. Rachel moaned, her legs falling farther apart as she lifted her hips a little. His finger rubbed her, his pants getting tighter with every sound she made. He looked over to find her staring at him, the heat in her eyes scorching him. She smiled and closed her eyes, pushing against his hand and then looked at him again as she gasped at the sensation.

He hit the brakes, pulling over onto the gravel on the side of the road. Rachel had undone her seatbelt and was on top of him before he got the car in park. He moaned as her hips pushed down into him, her mouth pressing against his as she unbuckled his seatbelt and moved it aside.

So what if it was day? So what if they were going to be late seeing his mother? So what if they were on the side of the road? "Rachel," he said, pushing her away a little. "Are you only doing this because you want to put off meeting my mom?"

"Of course not," she told him. "I'm _mostly_ doing it because I want you every minute of every day. Only a small part of it is because I want to put off meeting your mom."

Finn looked at her for a moment and finally shrugged. "I'll take it," he said, grabbing the back of her neck and bringing her lips back to his.

Rachel grinned against his mouth. "I figured you would," she said, struggling to get his jeans undone. When she'd freed him she rose, pulling her skirt up and pushing her panties to the side before sliding down on top of him.

He caught her sigh with his lips, his hands digging into the material gathered at her hips as she moved slowly on him. "I love you," she whispered in his ear as she moved faster, tightening around him.

He filled her completely, stretching her. She rocked against him, arching her back as she rode him. The seat belt buckle dug into her knees and the steering wheel kept them pressed chest to chest but Rachel barely noticed.

She cried out as his lips found her neck, his hands holding her hips still as he pushed up into her. She made low noises as each thrust jarred her, clenching her teeth as pleasure rolled through her. "Finn," she gasped, needing more.

"I know," he said, closing his eyes. Every push brought him closer to the edge. She leaned back against the steering wheel, the move changing the angle of his thrusts. She cried out again as she came, her head thrown back and her hand against the window.

Finn groaned as he spilled into her, resting his forehead on her shoulder and breathing hard. Rachel kissed the top of his head, smiling. "I think I forgot how much _I_ enjoy using my feminine wiles," she said after a moment.

Finn laughed and lifted his head, starting to reply. Before he could there was a knock on the window and Rachel noticed the flashing blue lights behind them. "Oh God," she shrieked, pulling his shirt down to cover him and climbing into the passenger seat, pushing her skirt down and covering her face with her hands.

"Sir, I'm going to need you to step out of the car," Rachel heard the officer say, then heard Finn mumbling as the car moved. She'd been so stupid! Bailing her out of jail for having sex on the side of the road wasn't exactly how Rachel wanted Finn's mother to meet her.

Thirty minutes later Rachel was sitting on the trunk begging the officer to please just take her to jail when a dark SUV showed up. "That's them," Finn said, straightening up and watching as his mother and Burt got out of the vehicle. The officer went over to talk to Burt as Carol walked over, watching them.

When she reached the embarrassed couple she stopped, looking from one to the other. Finn moved closer to Rachel, as if to protect her from whatever Carol would say. "My lasagna's probably cold by now," the woman said, shielding her eyes from the sun as she looked at them.

"Mrs. Hummel," Rachel started, stopping when Carol lifted her hand.

"Let's get you two heathens home," she said, her mouth crooking into the same half grin Rachel adored on Finn. "And fed." She nodded and started walking off, turning her head to laughingly say, "I'm sure you've worked up quite an appetite."

Rachel put her bright red face into Finn's back, not sure whether to laugh or cry. She felt Finn's laughter and looked up, glaring at him. "What's so funny about this?"

"Well she definitely thinks you're a hussy now," he said, laughing harder.

Rachel shook her head, surprised to find that she was laughing too. "It's okay, though," she told him. "I think she likes me."

"Doesn't everyone like hussies?" Finn teased, helping her off the car.

"So long as you do, babe," she said, wrapping her arms around him and smiling. "That's really all that matters."

"Well I definitely do," he said, kissing her lightly on the lips before lowering his head and kissing her again.

"Finn Christopher Hudson," Carol yelled from the SUV. "I'll let him take you to jail next time!"

Laughing again, Finn pulled away, walking Rachel to her door. He knew his mama, and he knew she meant it.


	15. Chapter 15

After the meal, Rachel and Finn helped clean up. When Burt and Finn started talking, Carol had motioned for her and Rachel to leave the room. She'd brought Rachel out on the porch, and then went back in to grab something.

Rachel sat on the swing, drinking some hot chocolate and looking around. She'd had no idea Ohio could be this beautiful, even though Finn had tried to explain it to her. She finally understood. She was used to the hustle and bustle of the city and bumping into someone at every turn. She had a feeling she could go days in this town without ever seeing another person. She couldn't believe how much she liked that idea.

Dinner had been fun, which had surprised the crap out of her. After the embarrassment of being busted on the side of the road, she'd been afraid she wouldn't be able to talk at all. Carol ended up being as funny and charming as Finn, and Rachel soon found herself laughing and talking with her as if they'd known each other forever. Burt was amazing as well; blunt, honest, friendly. Rachel fell in love with both of them.

Today she had to face a hard realization; she wanted to be a part of this family. She wanted to be a part of Finn's life. Not just as a girlfriend, or someone who would come and go easily…she needed it to be permanent. She'd never wanted anything more in her life, and nothing had ever scared her so much.

Carol came back outside and sat beside Rachel on the swing, sipping her own hot chocolate. "It's good for them to talk," she told Rachel. "It's long overdue."

Rachel nodded. "Finn told me what happened," she told Carol. "We talked about it for a while, and he said he's grown up a lot."

"Finn's not the same boy he was when he lived here," Carol said in agreement. "He partied, stayed out all night, fought…he was a bit of a mess."

"Sounds like a small town jock," Rachel said, grinning.

"That's exactly what he was," Carol said, laughing a little. "Every stereotype you've ever heard, all wrapped up into that boy."

"I told him that maybe hearing Burt say those things was a good thing," Rachel said to the other woman.

"It seems to have worked out," Carol said. "But I worry that he's pushing himself too hard." She sighed. "He always hated school. Now he's in school and planning on going to even more school."

"He can do it," Rachel said, thinking about the man in question. "He can do anything."

Carol grinned, looking over at Rachel. "You've got it bad, huh?"

Rachel blushed a little, shrugging. "Maybe," she said. Steeling herself, she looked over at Carol. "What if I do?" she asked the older woman. "What if I want to be more than just his girlfriend?" After the day they'd had, she wasn't sure if Carol would welcome the idea or kick her out of the house.

Carol smiled at her. "I've always wanted Finn to be happy, whether it was playing ball or being a doctor. I can see now that it doesn't really matter what he's doing; it's who he's with. I've never seen him happier, and that's all that I want. And I'm pretty sure it's because of you."

"You think so?" Rachel asked, relieved.

Carol nodded. "That's how it looks to me."

"But what about…my job?" Rachel asked. Finn was certain that Kurt had mentioned her job to Carol, but Rachel needed to know for sure. She didn't want to hide anything from the woman.

Carol shrugged. "What you do for work is your own business," she told Rachel. "Kurt told me that you were quitting all of that anyway, and starting NYADA?"

Rachel nodded. "I'm not sure how I got into stripping, but I've always enjoyed it." She looked over at Carol and held the older woman's gaze. "I'm not ashamed of my job; I had fun and it was good money. And after he got over the initial shock, Finn didn't mind. That impressed me, you know? A lot of girls, they get a boyfriend and they're forced to quit. Finn trusts me and knows that no matter what happens on stage, I'm all his. I loved that about him from the beginning."

"Finn struggled a little when he was in school, but when Burt and I got married and Kurt became his brother, he became much more open-minded. I was always so proud of him for sticking with Kurt, defending him. I hate that in this day and age anyone that's different needs defending, but I was glad that my son was the sort of boy that would stand up and do it."

"I loved that about him from the beginning, too," Rachel told the woman, smiling. "He's the kind of guy that sticks up for people."

"That's my boy," Carol said, nodding. Finn and Burt walked out onto the porch, laughing about something. "And there he is." Carol stood up and walked to the men, kissing Finn on the cheek. "Let's let the kids swing," she told Burt, winking at Rachel.

Finn came over and sat by her, watching his parents go back into the house. When they shut the door, he looked over at her, making a face. "Was it bad? Did she say anything about you being a hussy? Did she say anything about me being a hussy?"

Rachel laughed and moved closer to him, putting her head against his shoulder. "I think she likes me."

Finn let out a breath. "Thank God," he said.

Rachel looked up at him, arching a brow. "Were you that worried?" she asked. He'd spent the past week telling her that everything would be fine. She hadn't realized he was that good of an actor.

"Of course not," he said, smiling down at her.

Rachel rolled her eyes, unable to hide her grin. "I remain unconvinced."

He lowered his lips to hers, kissing her softly. "I knew she'd love you," he told her. "You're easy to love."

Rachel smiled into the kiss. "That's a little more convincing," she told him. She put her head back on his shoulder. "What about Burt? Does he like me?"

"Nah, he thinks you're a hussy," Finn told her. He laughed when she pulled away and stared at him, putting his arm around her shoulders. "I'm teasing, baby. Of course he likes you."

Rachel let him pull her back into his arms, taking another sip of her hot chocolate as he pushed the swing. They were quiet for a while, both lost in their own thoughts. "Do you want to come back here eventually?" she asked him.

"What do you mean?"

"After you're finished with school and officially a doctor, do you want to come back here?"

He thought about it for a moment. "I'd always planned on moving back here eventually," he told her. "But now I guess that sort of depends on you."

"On me?" she asked, her heart skipping a beat.

He nodded, looking down at her. "Rachel…" His brow furrowed. He moved from her side, getting down on his knee in front of the swing. "I wanted to wait to do this until everything was perfect, but now everything feels perfect." He pulled a little box from his pocket, opening it and looking up at her. "I love you, Rachel. I can't imagine facing a day without you at my side; I don't want to. Your smile warms my soul and I could stare into your eyes forever…if you'd let me. Will you marry me, Rach?"

Rachel stared down at him, shocked. "Are you sure?" she asked.

"I'm sure," he said, nodding.

"Then yes, Finn, of course I'll marry you," she said, tears falling out of the corners of her eyes as she got down on the porch and hugged him.

Finn slipped the ring on her finger, his hands cupping her face as he kissed her. "I love you so much," he told her. "I'm going to make you the happiest woman in the world. I promise."

"You already do," she told him, lifting her lips to his again.


	16. Chapter 16

"I can't believe it," Sam said again, throwing his arm over his eyes as he lay in Artie's bed. "You can't do this to me, man."

"How does me getting married affect you in any way?" Finn asked from his desk, making a note in the margin of his book.

"You can't be serious right now," Sam said, lifting his head to glare at his friend. "You won't be "Finn, Sam's friend" anymore. You'll be "Finn, Rachel's husband.""

Finn looked over at his friend, frowning. "Why can't I be "Finn, Finn?"" he asked.

"Because as soon as you're married you lose you and turn into an extension of her," Sam whined.

"I'm already an extension of her," Finn said, turning back to his book. "You're overreacting."

Sam moaned loudly, and when Finn ignored him he moaned even louder. Sighing, Finn put the book down and turned to look at his best friend. "Dude, can't you just be happy for me?"

"Not right now," Sam said, pouting. "Right now I'm mourning the loss of my best friend."

"I'm still going to be your best friend," Finn told him.

"So if I call you, drunk out of my mind, at 3 in the morning and Rachel's lying beside you with nothing on, you're going to get out of your warm married person bed, leave a hot naked Rachel and come save me?"

"First of all," Finn told him, picking up a football and tossing it at his friend, "that's enough of you thinking about Rachel with nothing on. Secondly, if you need me, I'm your guy. Rachel and my warm married person bed will be there when I get back."

"That's the sweetest thing you've ever said to me," Sam said, throwing the ball back at Finn. "Maybe we should get married instead."

Finn grinned, tossing the ball back. "You're not my type," he said. "Though there was that one time…"

Sam laughed. "I knew it, Hudson. Everyone falls for the lips or the abs eventually."

Finn caught the ball when Sam threw it back and held it. "So what's all this about?" he asked Sam. "You're not really upset, right?"

Sam sighed, sitting up. "No, not really. I just feel like everything is happening so fast; graduation, medical school, marriages, real life. It's scary."

"Well you're not getting married," Finn reminded him. "You can still run wild and sow your wild oats."

Sam nodded, grinning a little. "I think I've sowed enough. Mercedes…she's special. I'm not sure I'm ready to toss my brain out the window and ask her to marry me, but I've got all these weird feelings for her and they twist my stomach up in knots."

"Sounds like love to me," Finn said.

"Why would anyone want to feel like this all the time?" Sam asked incredulously. "It's nuts. I feel like I've eaten rotten potato salad or something."

"Okay, maybe it's not love. Maybe it's food poisoning," Finn told him, laughing.

"Right?" Sam said, laughing with him.

Artie opened the door and rolled into the room, glaring at Sam as he rolled by his bed. "Evans, how many times have I asked you not to put your ass on my bed?"

"A couple hundred?" Sam said.

Artie nodded. "I'm glad you're keeping up." He looked over at Finn. "A little birdie told me that you popped the question to your lady love. Congratulations."

"Thanks man," Finn said, grinning.

"I'm assuming this blessed event will happen after graduation?" Artie asked, turning on his computer.

"Yeah, sometime in June," Finn told him. "Rachel's taking care of all the wedding plans."

"Probably a good thing," Artie said. "You can't even match your socks."

Sam laughed, noticing that Finn's socks were different colored. "The washer always eats their mates," Finn said defensively.

"What do her parents think about you?" Artie asked him.

"They're cool guys," Finn said. He'd been scared to meet them, understanding exactly how Rachel had felt before meeting his mom. They'd barbequed, though, even letting Finn help turn the meat, and talked about football the whole night. He didn't know if they were going out of their way to make him comfortable or if that's how their days normally went, but either way, he really liked it.

"Guys?" Artie and Sam asked, both looking at him.

"Yeah, she's got two dads."

Artie shrugged and Sam's grin widened. "You're so screwed if you ever fuck up," he told Finn. "You don't have to worry about just one angry daddy; you'd have to deal with two."

"Good thing I don't plan on fucking up then, right?" Finn said, throwing the ball hard at Sam.

Sam caught it but it still hit his chest. "You wound me, sir," he said, still grinning.

Finn rolled his eyes, turning back to Artie. "Hey man, what happened to Sugar? I haven't seen her in a couple of days."

Artie shrugged, not looking at him. "We're taking a break."

Sam's smile slipped and he frowned. "For real? Why?"

The boy sighed and shook his head. "It's for the best."

"Wait, so you initiated the break?" Finn asked him.

Putting his pencil down, Artie stared at the screen for a moment before wheeling himself around to look at the other two boys. "In case it somehow escaped your notice, I'm in a wheelchair."

"No man, that's the first thing I noticed," Sam told him. Finn groaned.

Ignoring Sam, Artie crossed his arms. "I just don't feel like it's in Sugar's best interest to be stuck with a guy in a chair her entire college career. She should be out partying and living it up, not dragging me around."

"Dude, you totally party though," Finn told him. "You go to the club with us all the time."

"Yes, and Sugar pushes me in, pushes me around, sits in my lap and pretends to dance with me. It's not fair to her."

"But she loves you," Sam said. "She really does."

"And I love her, which is why I let her go."

"For a smart guy, you're dumb as hell," Sam said. Finn glared at him and Sam shrugged. "You were thinking it too."

Finn sighed, looking at Artie. "I was sort of thinking it," he admitted. "If you're in love with someone, you hold onto them. If they're in love with you, they hold on to you. That's just the way it works."

"And you feel like you've eaten rotten potato salad," Sam chimed in, nodding wisely.

"Look, there's a sweetheart dance thing at the club this weekend," Finn told Artie. "You should ask Sugar if she wants to go."

"Maybe," Artie said, frowning. In truth, he missed her. He'd felt like a complete ass when they'd broken up, her tears breaking his heart. He'd tried to let it go, but every day he missed her more. He looked at Sam. "But I don't think I should ever take dating advice from a man that compares love to rotting food."

Sam shrugged. "You win some, you lose some."

Finn shook his head as his friends continued bantering, thinking about the sweetheart dance and his sweetheart. He should do something special for her, but he wasn't sure what. He'd think about it a little more.


	17. Chapter 17

Rachel had been looking for Finn in the packed club but couldn't find him. She'd been stopped by dozens of people congratulating her on her engagement, and she'd stood and talked to all of them for a few minutes. She was starting to think Finn had left the club just to get away from the well-wishers.

Mercedes was on the stage, singing a slow love song, and Rachel wanted to dance with her man. She thought about asking Artie if he'd seen him, but his head was lying over on Sugars and they seemed to be having a moment; Rachel didn't want to interrupt.

"Hey," she asked her brother, sitting on a stool at the bar, "have you seen Finn?" She looked over and smiled at the blonde that may as well live in the club. "Hi, Quinn."

"Hey Rachel," Quinn said, smiling. "I saw Finn earlier, but I haven't seen him or Sam since."

"Yeah, me either," Puck said, leaning across the bar to kiss Quinn quickly on the lips.

Rachel had found the couple sort of odd at first, but she figured that's the same way people looked at her and Finn; plus, they worked. Quinn soothed something in Puck that no other girl had ever been able to, and he made her laugh. Rachel was happy for both of them.

The song ended and she sighed. Maybe they could dance during the next slow song. She pushed away from the bar and kept looking, surprised that she couldn't find Finn, who was normally at least a head taller than everyone else. "Hey," she said to Mercedes, finding her friend at a table, surrounded by fans. "Are you taking a break?"

Mercedes nodded, signing autographs and smiling for a picture. "Okay, people, I'll do more later, okay? I need to talk to my girl." The fans left, to Rachel's surprise.

"I thought fans were supposed to stalk you and not let you have any privacy?" she said, sitting down.

"They know I mean it when I say I'll sign the stuff later," Mercedes said. "And they told me that I could take a break right now because another act was coming on for a few minutes."

"Really?" Rachel asked. "I wonder who it is?"

Mercedes shrugged, taking a sip of her Coke. "Don't know, don't care. I was glad for a break. Sam went to grab us some food; I'm starving."

"I can't believe Sam's still around," Rachel told her friend, grinning. "You've never kept a boyfriend for longer than a month."

Mercedes nodding, smiling back at Rachel. "Sam's different. With most guys, you can't trust them when you go on the road or they're whiny and clingy. I trust Sam completely, and he knows that I've got to do what I've got to do. It works." She looked around a bit, and then leaned over the table. "I think I love him."

Rachel's eyes widened as she stared at her friend. "Really? Sam?"

Mercedes rolled her eyes, laughing. "Yes, Rachel, Sam."

"But he's so…Sam," Rachel said.

"If by that you mean adorable, gorgeous, smart, funny and sweet, then you're right."

Rachel grinned, looking down. "I'm sorry, Mercy. Sam is a great guy. It's just that he's like a little brother to me. An annoying little brother."

Mercedes laughed. "Thankfully, he's nothing like a brother to me."

Rachel reached across the table and put her hand over her friends. "I'm happy for you, Mercy. I really am. You and Sam are perfect for each other."

"I think so too," Mercedes admitted. "Even though the boy compares being in love to a stomachache." She shook her head, still laughing.

The music for Peter Gabriel's "In Your Eyes" started and Rachel grinned. "I love this song," she told her friend. "Let's go dance." She'd find Finn when it was over.

When she and Mercedes stood, Rachel froze. Finn was playing the drums, his eyes searching the crowd for her. When they settled on her he grinned, winking. She grabbed Mercedes arm, keeping her friend by her side.

"Love, I get so lost…sometimes.

Days pass, and this emptiness fills my heart.

When I want to run away, I drive off in my car.

But whichever way I go, I come back to the place you are.

All my instincts, they return.

The grand façade so soon will burn.

Without a voice,

Without my pride,

I reach out from the inside."

Rachel could barely breathe, it was so perfect. Finn's voice washed over her, his eyes burning her. He drummed as he sang, never missing a beat. He'd never looked so sexy to her, so in control.

"In your eyes, the light the heat.

In your eyes, I am complete.

In your eyes, I see the doorway.

In your eyes, of a thousand churches.

In your eyes, the resolution of all the fruitless searches.

In your eyes, I see the light and heat.

In your eyes, oh I want to be that complete.

I want to touch the light, the heat I see in your eyes."

Rachel slowly moved toward the stage as he continued to sing, her eyes not leaving his. After the song was over, the crowd cheered loudly and Finn stood, his eyes still holding hers. "Girl, you just got Lloyd Dobbler-ed," Mercedes said from beside her.

Rachel only nodded as Finn walked to her, bending down. Without even thinking about it, Rachel lifted her arms, allowing him to lift her onto the stage. Amid catcalls and whistles, Finn's lips found hers, his arms wrapping around her tightly. "Is this real?" she asked when he pulled away, her eyes searching his.

Finn smiled crookedly, nodding. "I love you, Rachel," he told her.

"When did you become a rock star?" Rachel asked him, still overwhelmed by what had just happened.

Finn shrugged. "I told you I used to sing, and you knew I played the drums."

She continued to stare up at him for another moment, shock turning into admiration, which quickly turned into lust. "It's so…hot," she said, her eyes moving down to his lips.

Finn sucked in a breath as her gaze lowered. "If I'd known singing and playing would have this effect on you, I'd have been doing it from the moment we met."

"You will do it from now on," Rachel said, looking back up into his eyes. "Please?"

He nodded, leaning down to kiss her again. "This rock star is all yours, baby."

Another song started and Finn looked out at the crowd, having forgotten for a moment where they were. "Do you want to sit with Mercedes and Sam?" he asked Rachel.

Rachel shook her head, narrowing her eyes. "You know what I want," she told him.

Finn laughed, nodding. "Lead the way," he told her.

Over the past few months, trial and error had taught the couple a thing or two about the different rooms in the back of the club. They'd used every one of them to hook up in- even the supply closet. Rachel led him to Puck's office, locking the door behind them. They'd learned quickly that an unlocked door was an invitation to strangers.

She turned and was at once pulled up into his arms, his lips crashing down on hers. She moaned softly, wrapping her legs around his waist as he held her. Her teeth caught his lower lip, tugging on it. "All this time you could have been singing me to sleep, wasted," she said huskily, looking up at him.

He grinned. "I'll make up for it," he promised, hips lips moving to her neck. "I'll sing to you every night for the rest of forever. How does that sound?"

She closed her eyes, her head falling back as her hips pushed into his. "Sounds like a start," she said, grinning when he bit her neck softly.

Finn backed her over to the desk, sitting her on the edge of it as her hands unbuttoned his jeans, pushing them down. "You in a hurry, Rach?" he asked, closing his eyes for a moment at the feel of her hand stroking him.

"Yes," she said simply, pulling him closer and sliding his tip against her.

"No underwear?" he asked, shocked. "Hussy."

Rachel's laugh turned into a moan when his hands spread her legs wider and he pushed his tip against her again, sliding it along her wetness. "Your hussy," she said, looking up at him.

Finn pushed himself inside her, watching her face as he slowly filled her. "God you're beautiful," he said, clenching his jaw as her walls stretched around him. He began moving, his hands holding her hips as his lips found hers again.

She gasped with each thrust, amazed at how quickly the heat rose in her body. She put her hands back on the desk, knocking some of Puck's papers over as her hips pushed up against his, desperate for more.

Feeling her body tremble, his hand moved from her hip, his thumb pressing against her, rubbing her. Rachel cried out, her head dropping back again as he teased her, her hips straining against his. His hips moved faster, pushing him deeper inside her each time. She shook her head, feeling like she was going to explode- and then she did. Finn's hand moved up to cover her mouth as she screamed, grabbing his arms and digging her nails into his skin as the waves of heat rolled through her.

He kept pounding into her as her body shook around him, groaning as he came. He leaned over, kissing her neck after his last thrust, his body still on fire. Her hands came up to cradle his head, pulling his lips up to hers. Pulling away, he smiled at her. "I will sing every minute of every day for the rest of our lives. I will sing when you wake up, I will sing when you're in the bathroom. I will sing when we go shopping…"

Rachel laughed, kissing him and cutting him off. "You won't get lucky every time you sing," she told him. "But almost."

His grin widened. "And when we go get coffee, and when you go to the dentist, and when we're riding bikes…"

Rachel wrapped her arms around him, laughing as he kept going. Sex god, rock star, complete dork. That was her baby.


	18. Chapter 18

Rachel loved NYADA, but she didn't know if she'd be able to stay. Finn hadn't heard from any of the medical schools in New York, and it looked more and more like he would be going to Kentucky. He'd told her repeatedly that she couldn't give up NYADA for him, but NYADA wasn't her life; he was.

They had argued about it, which drove her crazy. Her wanting them to stay together was the thing driving them apart. Finn had spent more time in his dorm room lately, and though it was true that he probably needed to study for finals, he could have done it at her place.

"What's wrong?" Puck asked her, wiping some glasses down and putting them under the bar.

Rachel plopped onto the stool and put her face in her hands. "Why is it so wrong for me to want to actually live with my husband?" she asked.

"Finn? He's not your husband yet…right?" Puck said, looking confused.

"No, but he will be when he goes to medical school. Medical school in Kentucky." She pouted, looking at her brother. "Give me a drink."

Puck nodded and fixed her a screwdriver, setting it in front of her. "You two are still arguing about that?"

"He's being unreasonable," Rachel told him, taking a long drink and wincing a bit. "No couple can survive being away from each other for four years, no matter how strong they are." She sighed. "I'm quitting NYADA. That's all there is to it. I love him, Noah. I have to be with him."

Puck put his hands on the bar, looking at his sister. "Rach, you've always wanted to go to NYADA. I know you love Finn, but you need to be absolutely certain that you're not going to hold this against him for the rest of your lives. _That's_ what a marriage can't survive."

She took another drink and nodded. "I've thought about it so much. I do love NYADA, and I love New York. But those are places. Finn's my heart."

"I'm going to gag," Puck told her, smiling despite himself. It made him happy to see Rachel happy. "I'm glad Quinn's going to be a teacher," he said. "You can teach anywhere."

"So is she staying here?"

"I want her to. I'm in love with her, Rachel. I don't know if I'm ready to get married, but she's everything I could ever imagine wanting in a woman. She's beautiful and smart and funny and sweet…she's perfect."

Rachel grinned, happy for her brother. "I think love is in the air, because Mercedes is in love with Sam, and I'm pretty sure the feeling is mutual. And Sugar and Artie have worked everything out."

"I like these people," Puck told her. "I feel like they've always been our friends. They're just like…our other halves or something. Once you found yours, you brought me and Mercy ours."

"Noah, that's beautiful," Rachel said, staring at her brother. "And true. You and Mercy owe me big time."

He laughed. "I'm not even going to argue, because in some weird way, I really do."

They talked for a while and Rachel left, deciding- with the help of some vodka and orange juice- to tell Finn once and for all that she was quitting NYADA. Getting to his dorm room, she knocked and waited.

"Hey," Finn said, opening the door and leaning against it. "I didn't know you were coming over."

Rachel looked up at him and smiled. "Aren't you happy to see me?"

He nodded, leaning down to kiss her. "I'm always happy to see you, baby." He stepped back, letting her into his room. "Artie's at Sugars."

"Good," Rachel said. "I need to talk to you."

"I need to talk to you, too," he told her. "I'm not going to medical school."

"What?" she asked, looking at him quizzically.

"I'm not going. I can't let you leave NYADA and I know you would. So I'm just not going to medical school."

Rachel stared up at him, shocked. "Finn, you have to. You've worked so hard to get in. I can't let you just not go."

"I've thought about it a lot," he told her. "And medical school isn't as important to me as you. Nothing is. So I'm going to stay here and you're going to stay at NYADA."

"No no no," Rachel said, shaking her head. "That's what I'm supposed to be saying to you. I'm not going to stay at NYADA, I'm going to Kentucky. You can't not go to medical school because of me."

Finn sighed, rubbing his face with his hands. "I'm not going, Rach."

Rachel crossed her arms. "I'm dropping out of NYADA, Finn."

"If you would just listen to me," he said, groaning. "Mercedes asked me to play for her. Since I don't want to leave New York that much, I'll probably just be her studio drummer, but it pays well and it would be fun. I'll sing backup vocals and everything."

"Singing backup for Mercedes isn't what you want," Rachel told him. "I know you love to drum, and I know you love to sing. But you're going to be a doctor, dammit."

"You won't even listen to me," he said, looking at his watch. "I have to go, but I'll be back in an hour. Wait here, okay? Please don't go anywhere." He grabbed his book and kissed her on the forehead. "No matter what else happens," he said quietly, "I love you."

She closed her eyes, nodding. "I love you too," she told him.

After he'd left, she pulled her phone out of her pocket and dialed Mercedes number. "What were you thinking?" Rachel demanded, going to Finn's desk and sitting down.

Mercedes sighed. "Hello to you, too, Rachel."

"You know he wants to be a doctor. Why would you offer him something like that?"

"Because he was upset and didn't know what to do, and was absolutely adamant about staying in NY with you," Mercedes told her. "Girl, that boy loves you. He's not going to let you quit NYADA."

"I love him too," Rachel said, picking up him mail and sorting it out. "I'm not going to let him skip out on medical school. I couldn't live with that."

"I don't know what you two will do," Mercedes said, sighing. "I wish I had an answer."

"Me too," Rachel said, holding a large envelop from Finn's school. She frowned, wondering what it was. "I'm sorry for calling and being a bitch, okay? I'm just really upset."

"It's okay baby," Mercedes told her. "I've got to go now, though. Love you."

"Love you too," Rachel said, putting her phone down. She opened the envelope, pulling the papers out. Reading the first line, she felt light headed. Standing up quickly, she grabbed her phone and ran out of the room.

Running across campus, she got to the building that Finn had class in and ran up the stairs. "Holy crap," she groaned after a moment. She should go to school here; she'd definitely stay in shape. Getting to his classroom, she stood outside of his door and waved her hands, trying to get his attention.

Every person in his class _but_ Finn looked up. Finally the teacher said, "Can I help you, Miss?"

Finn's eyes found her and widened as he stood, rushing to the door and closing it behind him. "Rachel, what is it?" he asked her, looking her over to make sure she was okay.

"Look," Rachel said, handing him the paper.

"What is it?" he asked, confused. He took the paper, reading the first line and looking at her. "What?" He looked again, this time reading the whole first page. "NYU Medical School?" he said, grinning and looking at her. "I'm in?"

"You're in!" she cried, jumping up and down.

Finn grabbed her, swinging her around. "I'm in!" His lips found hers as he held her tightly. Some of the students from his class started cheering through the door and he looked at them sheepishly.

"Go back to class," Rachel told him, still grinning. "We'll celebrate later."

"I love you," he told her, smiling down at her.

"I love you, too, baby," she said.


	19. Chapter 19

He'd never seen anything so beautiful in his life. He found that he couldn't breathe when she walked out, deciding that Kurt had been right and he shouldn't have gone with the bow tie Blaine had suggested. _Dammit, Blaine, why always with the bow ties?_ he wondered to himself, wanting to glare over at the other man but unable to take his eyes off of Rachel.

Because Rachel was beautiful. She was beautiful anyway, but now she was walking toward him in the most beautiful white dress with the most beautiful baby bump and the most beautiful smile on her face and was he drooling? He might be drooling. He couldn't help it, though. His mouth wouldn't shut and it was all her fault. Those weren't tears in his eyes, either; he was fine. He was perfectly fine.

His mother had warned him that this was going to happen and he'd scoffed, telling the older woman that he'd seen Rachel in beautiful dresses before. His mother had shrugged and smiled knowingly, letting him believe what he wanted. He now realized exactly how wrong he'd been; nothing would ever compare to the sight before him, even if he lived to be 300.

Doctor Finn Christopher Hudson (he really was a doctor now, he had the medical certificate to prove it) was finally marrying Miss Rachel Barbra Berry, recent graduate of NYADA and the future mother of baby Hudson.

Mr., Mrs. and baby Hudson. It seemed surreal, like it was happening to someone else. They'd put off the wedding until they'd both graduated, wanting to see if they could get through school without killing each other before they started married life. It was a close one, and Finn was surprised that she'd stuck with him through the craziness of med school. He'd been stressed out almost every minute of every day, but Rachel was always there with a solution to every problem. Tough day? They'd take a ride together. Tough week? They'd take a trip somewhere. Lots of homework? She's massage his shoulders while he read through textbook after textbook.

He'd helped her out, too. NYADA wasn't a walk in the park by any stretch of the imagination. She'd come home with sore feet and he'd rub them. If she was upset that someone else had gotten a solo, he'd be her captive audience for however long it took for her to calm down. Someone took the song she was going to sing? He'd help her find a better one. He wanted to be her knight in shining armor and she'd pretended he was exactly that.

What Finn didn't realize was that she hadn't been pretending. As Rachel walked toward him, it was all she could do not to cry. He was perfect in every way, looking so handsome in his tux and bow tie that she couldn't take her eyes off of him. Everything about Finn Hudson had been made for Rachel and for Rachel only; his crooked grin, his nerdy sense of humor, his amazingly strong arms that could chase away any demon she had; he was her home and she walked a little faster, unwilling to spend a moment longer than she had to not being his wife.

He held his hand out for her and she took it, not surprised at the warmth that enveloped her with the slightest of contact. She looked up at him and smiled, blushing slightly at the look of pure adoration in his eyes. He loved her completely, the same way she did him. No matter what life threw at them, she knew she could look into those beautiful eyes and find peace.

Neither really paid attention to what the preacher was saying, Finn whispering how beautiful she was and how much he loved her even as the man talked to them and the crowd. "I love you, too," she whispered back, looking away for the briefest moment to glare at Sam who had shushed her.

Being with Finn had meant adopting an entire group of people- Sam included- but Rachel loved them all as if they were her own family. Finn had gotten her friends out of the bargain too, and the group and formed a cohesive unit that belonged together. Sam and Mercedes were happily married, as were Quinn and Puck. The latter couple had a little girl named Beth that called them Auntie Rach and Uncle Finny, both completely wrapped around her little angelic finger. Rachel had sung at both weddings with Finn as backup. Finn had played the drums at Artie and Sugar's wedding, Mercedes and Rachel singing with Sam on guitar. It was weird, but the majority of them were musically inclined. If they'd all gone to school together they would have made a kickass Glee Club, Finn and Rachel in the lead. One big, dysfunctional, loving family is what they were now, and none of them would have it any other way.

When it was time to repeat their wedding vows, both Finn and Rachel did so with complete conviction, their voices never wavering. Finn's hands shook as he slid the ring onto Rachel's finger and he grinned sheepishly when it finally found its place. He lifted her hand to his mouth and kissed it before lowering it again, refusing to let go completely.

Rachel heard Kurt sigh wistfully when it was time to kiss the bride and she smiled against Finn's lips as they met hers. She wrapped her arms around his neck and held on for dear life, and that made sense because that's exactly what Finn was; her life.

She kissed him back, her heart so full of love and happiness that she thought it might burst. She heard the people in the audience begin to cheer and laughed, pulling away to look up into his eyes. He was now her husband and she would love, honor and obey him for the rest of her life.

Finn's hand rested on the slight bump between them, smiling down at her before turning to face the crowd. "My family!" he called, grinning so widely his face hurt but he couldn't stop. Another cheer went through the crowd as they all stood up, clapping. He smiled at his mother, who was wiping a tear off of her face, mouthing, "I love you," to her. She just nodded; she knew.

Without warning, Finn bent down and scooped Rachel up, his nose touching hers briefly as the crowd gathered around the front door of the chapel. "My goddess on a motorcycle," he said, realizing now that he'd probably fallen in love with the woman in his arms the moment she'd almost killed him. Life's funny that way, isn't it?


End file.
